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DWIGHI     I      MOOUY 


A.     in  TJ  Hj  Hi     JB^  I  S  T 

WONDERFUL     CAREE\^  '^    '^^5 

MOODY   AND   SANKEY, 

IN   GREAT   BRITAIN   AND   AMERICA. 


EMBRACING,    ALSO,    THE     BEST    PORTIONS    OF    MR,    MOODY  S    SERMONS,   AS 

PREACHED    IN   THIS    COUNTRY   AND   ABROAD,  MR.  SANKEY'S   ADDRESSES 

AND    SOME   OF    HIS    SONGS,    WITH    EVERYTHING   OF   INTEREST 

CONNECTED   WITH   THE   WORK. 

y 

V 
By   Rev.   E.  J.   GOODSPEED,   D.D.. 

AUTHOR  OF   "  THB   UFB  OF  JESUS  FOR  YOUNG   PEOPLB,"  ETC.,  ETC     EDITOR   OF   "  COBBIN'G 
COMMENTARY." 


ILLUSTRATED     WITH 


STEEL   PLATE   PORTRAIT   OF   Mr.  MOODY, 


TWELVE  OTHER  ENGRAVINGS  FROM  ORIGINAL  DRAWINGS. 


F.  ^iJOJPlI^T.Ty  4fc  oo. 

26  SOUTH  SEVENTH  STSEET,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 
14     BARCLAY     STREET. 
AND   287   VINE  STREET,   CINCINNATI,   OHIO 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  year  1S76,  by 

EdQAR  J.   GOODSPEED, 

In  ibe  Offlcc  Of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


Re-entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1877,  by 

EdGAH  J.   GoODdPEED, 

In  tbe  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Cougress,  at  Washingtotu 


INTRODUCTION. 


CIRCUMSTANCES  make  men,  and  men  shape  circum- 
stances. There  is  a  reciprocal  influence  between  the 
times  and  the  leaders.  In  the  course  of  events  certain  con- 
ditions arise,  of  which  persons  take  advantage  to  make  them- 
selves useful  and  famous.  There  was  a  "  fulness  of  the  time  " 
when  Jesus   Christ  made  His  advent  upon   earth.     The  world 

was  ripe  for  it. 

"  No  war  nor  battle's  sound 
Was  heard  the  world  around." 

In  the  Lord's  kingdom  law  prevails,  and  men  know  how  to  labor 
effectively ;  but  there  are  also  set  times  to  favor  Zion,  critical 
epochs,  a  combination  of  occurrences  which  the  right  men  see 
and  take  advantage  of,  always  under  the  guidance  of  Divine 
Providence  and  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  thus 
bring  to  pass  notable  results  which  fill  the  world  with  wonder, 
and  extend  the  Redeemer's  sway  over  human  hearts.  In  the 
case  of  Mr.  Moody  there  existed  an  opportunity  in  the  new  cit\^ 
of  Chicago,  and  among  the  neglected  foreigners  and  abandoned 
classes,  where  he  began  his  mission  enterprise ;  a  necessity  for 
such  service  as  he  was  able  to  render  and  procure.  He  saw  and 
seized  the  opportunity,  and  achieved  a  magnificent  triumph,  and 
a  preparation  for  higher  and  wider  fields.  Thus  God  emphasizes 
again  the  importance  of  doing  well  the  duty  that  lies  next  to 
one's  hand,  if  a  call  is  expected  to  loftier  heights  and  more 
conspicuous  victories. 

When  the  Y.  M.  Christian  Association's  position  began  to  be 
assured,  and  Moody  linked  his  fortunes  with  it,  and  used  all  his 
energies  in  its  promotion,  there  was  in  the  churches  and  society 
a  yearning  after  some  common  ground  of  action — some  oppor- 
tunity to  express  the  feeling  of  essential  brotherhood  that  was 
growing.     The^iron  was  hot,  and  the  valiant  young  enthusiast 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

smote  it  with  telling  effect,  and  welded  the  hearts  of  thousands 
into  an  eifective  instrument  for  the  Lord's  work. 

Again,  when  he  and  his  singing  co-laborer  went  abroad,  there 
was  a  lack  of  such  music  as  ]\Ir.  Sankey  furnished.  The  people 
were  eager  for  the  rich  and  soul-subduing  melodies  which  he 
poured  out  upon  them  in  floods.  His  soul  inundated  his  words 
with  pathos  and  fire,  and  these  elements  reached  a  multitude 
who  were  weary  of  the  stupid,  drawling  hymns  and  tunes  so 
common  before  the  evangelists  appeared  on  British  soil.  The 
formal  style  of  preaching,  and  the  neglect  of  the  masses,  made 
a  sort  of  readiness  for  the  zealous,  business-like,  soul-stirring, 
direct,  and  simple  gospeling  which  has  rolled  a  wave  of  salvation 
over  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland.  Even  the  educated  shared 
in  the  gracious  movement  equally  with  the  common  masses. 

In  our  own  land,  the  brethren  found  a  depressed  state  of  feel- 
ing, the  result  of  commercial  disaster  and  universal  "hard  times," 
together  with  a  want  of  provision  for  the  non-church-going  multi- 
tude. They  at  once  met  with  enthusiastic  greetings,  and  felt 
themselves  to  be  supplying  a  lack  of  that  which  is  ever  most 
vital  to  man  as  related  to  God  and  eternity.  Accordingly,  they 
have  carried  along  a  series  of  meetings  more  vast  and  effective 
than  any  ever  before  held  in  this  country.  They  have  apparently 
created  little  prejudice,  have  won  the  good  wishes  of  all  classes, 
and  knit  the  sects  into  closer  unity  as  brethren.  The  interest 
has  increased  the  longer  they  have  tarried  in  a  town,  and  we 
may  reasonably  hope  that  still  greater  blessings  are  in  store  for 
our  people  through  their  gospel-preaching  and  singing. 

Wc  cannot  but  record  with  gratitude  and  surprise  the  amazing 
unanimity  of  the  secular  press  in  favoring  and  promoting  their 
evangelical  labors.  It  is  a  good  omen  for  our  country  when  these 
organs  publish  such  full  and  able  reports  of  these  monster-meet- 
ings, and  spread  broadcast  the  truths  or  germs  of  doctrine  which 
are  proclaimed  in  sermon  and  song.  These  we  gather,  arrange, 
and  condense,  that  what  otherwise  may  be  ephemeral  shall 
become  the  property  of  the  people  for  use  and  reference,  not 
only  to-day,  but  when  the  evangelists  are  looking  upon  the 
unveiled  glories  of  the  Lord  they  love. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


FAGB 

Introduction, 3 

List  of  Illustrations,         .       .       .       .       .       .       .       7 

PART   I. 

THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  DWIGHT  LYMAN  MOODY. 

CHAPTER. 

I.  Old  Paths  and  New  Converge,     .        .       .       .11 

II,  The  Boy  at  Home, 13 

■  III.  Out  in  the  World, 18 

IV.  Mission  Work, 22 

V.  The  Field  Widens, 28 

VI.  Daily  Bread, 31 

VII.  Personal  Growth, 34 

THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  IRA  DAVID  SANKEY. 

VIIL  The  Boy  is  Father  tq  the  Man,         .*       .       .45 

IX.  In  Training  for  his  Work,  .       .        .       .      49 

X.  Two  ARE  Better  than  One,  ....      52 

PART   IL 

Messrs.  MOODY  AND  SANKEY  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

XI.  Beginning  Abroad,  60 

XIL  The  Word  in  Edinburgh, 73 

XIII.  On  to  Glasgow, 100 

XIV.  The  Evangelists  in  Ireland,        .       .  •      .        .121 
XV.  The  Glory  of  God  in  Dublin,      ....    132 

XVI.  The  Harvest  in  England 141 

XVII.  Times  of  Blessing  in  Sheffield,  .        .        .153 

XVIII.  "  The  Toy  Shop  of  the  World  "  Welcomes  them,    163 

XIX.  Liverpool's  Month  OF  Mercy 172 

XX.  Mighty  London  is  Blessed,           .       .       .        .182 
XXI.  Farewell  in  Liverpool, 214 


CONTENTS. 


PART  III. 
THE  EVANGELISTS  IN  AMERICA. 

CHAPTER.  PACE. 

XXII.  Moody  and  Sankey  in  Brooklyn,      .        .     227 

XXIII.  The  Work  in  Philadelphia,         .         .         .     261 

XXIV.  The  Princeton  Revival,      ....     377 
XXV.  The  Work  of  Grace  at  the  Hippodrome  in 

New  York, 386 

XXVI.  Mr.  Moody  in  the  South  and  West.     Close 

OF  the  Campaign, 519 

XXVII.  The  Gospel  in  Chicago,       .        .        .        -529 
XXVIII.  Boston  at  the  Feet  of  Jesus,        .    625  to  744 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Frontispiece.     Steel   Plate   Portrait    of    Dwight 

L.  Moody. 

The  Moody  Homestead  at  Northfield,  Mass.,         .  12 

Mr.  Moody's  New  Church  at  Chicago,   ...  32 

Portrait  of  Ira  D.  Sankey, 44 

Interior  View  of  Farwell  Hall  at  Chicago,         .  120 

The  Opening   Services  at  the  Brooklyn  Rink,      .  240 
Mr.  Moody's   First  Sunday  at  the  Depot  Church, 

Philadelphia, 266 

Mr.  Moody  Preaching  to  the  People  in  the  "  Hip- 
podrome,"           386 

Mr.  Moody  Laboring  in  the  Inquiry-Room  at  the 

"Hippodrome," 456 

Interior  of  the  Tabernacle  for  the   Moody  and 

Sankey  Meetings,  Chicago,           .         .         .  529 

Portrait  of  P.  P.  Bliss, 612 

Exterior  of  the  Boston  Tabernacle,      .         .        .  625 

Interior  of  the  Boston  Tabernacle,       .         .        .  672 


PART    I. 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY 


HISTORY   OF  THEIR  EARLY  LIFE. 


PART    II. 


THE    WONDERFUL    CAREER  ] 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY, 


GJiBA  T  BRITAIN. 


Part   III 


A  COMPLETE    HISTORY 

OF  THB  1 

CAREER  AND  WORK 

OF 

i 

MOODY   AND    SANKEY, 

IN    AMERICA-  I 


THE   WONDERFUL    CAREER 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY 

IN 

GREAT    BRITAIN    AND    AMERICA. 


THE  EAKLY  LIFE  OF  D.  L.  MOODY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

OLD  PATHS  AND  NEW  CONVERGE. 

The  Lord  Jesus,  when  He  sent  out  the  seventy  to  propagate 
the  new  faith,  sent  them  two  by  two.  There  was  in  all  His 
actions  a  Divine  wisdom :  and  so  in  this  arrangement  there  was 
some  wise  purpose  which  we  do  not  now  seek  to  fathom.  We 
read  that  Paul  the  Great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  associated  a 
brother  with  him  in  his  missionary  journeys.  At  one  time 
Barnabas  was  his  companion,  at  another  Mark  attended  him. 
We  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  one  cause  for  this  lay  in 
Paul's  lack  of  ability  to  sing,  or  in  his  associates'  musical 
talents.  And  yet  we  cannot  be  sure  that  some  division  of 
service  may  not  have  been  secured  by  this  habit  of  going  out  in 
pairs  to  evangelize.  Doubtless  there  were  some  things  which 
one  could  do  better  than  the  other,  and  a  twofold  evangelism 
was  found  advantageous.  At  all  events,  we  find  in  our  own 
time  and  under  our  eyes  a  repetition  of  this  primitive  order 
blessed  with  glorious  success. 

They  heralded  Paul  and  his  attendant  as  they  enteied  one  of 
the  ancient  cities,  with  the  extravagant  remark  "  these  fellows 


12  MOODY  3    EARLY   LIFE. 

that  have  turned  the  world  upside  down  have  come  hither 
also."  And  subsequent  events  justified  the  alarm  and  excite- 
ment caused  by  their  coming.  Two  Americans,  now  famous  the 
world  over  as  evangelists,  have  created  a  tremendous  interest  in 
behalf  of  religion,  and  the  promise  of  their  continued  power  is 
as  fair  as  anything  human  can  be.  It  is  natural  to  ask  who 
these  men  are,  and  how  they  came  into  this  mighty  work.  Is 
their  gift  a  genius,  a  rare  marvellous  talent,  or  are  they  common 
men  with  no  special  endowments?  How  then  were  they  trained 
and  prepared  for  the  exercise  of  such  influence  for  good  ?  We 
want  to  know  somewhat  of  their  early  life,  that  we  may  learn 
the  secret  of  their  power.  Did  they  grow  into  their  present 
agency  from  humble  beginnings,  and  by  the  use  of  common  op- 
portunities, or  is  there  a  miracle  about  their  history  and  career? 
What  qualities  have  they  in  their  constitution  that  have  made 
them  capable  of  extraordinary  achievements  and  what  advan- 
tages have  they  possessed  superior  to  those  of  other  men  ? 
From  the  facts  that  have  crept  out  here  and  there  from  the 
obscurity  that  envelopes  their  lives,  we  gather  enough  to  show 
us  all  we  need  to  know  for  the  answer  of  our  inquiries  and  the 
settlement  of  every  problem  presented  by  their  wonderful 
career  of  evangelism. 


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Moody's  early  life.  13 


CHAPTER   II. 


THE    BOY   AT    HOME. 


DwiGHT  Lyman  Moody  was  born  in  Northfield,  Massachu- 
setts, Feb.  5th,  1837.  These  rugged  hills  and  plains  have  borne 
many  noble  men  and  nourished  in  them  a  vigorous  life,  whose 
forces  have  been  given  to  the  world  in  vast  streams  of  useful* 
ness.  And  this  lad,  born  in  a  lowly  spot,  of  humble  parentage, 
will  rank  as  a  harvester  of  souls,  among  the  names  that  men 
will  not  let  die,  and  God  will  wreathe  with  everlasting  honor. 
It  was  apparently  a  misfortune  that  the  father  should  die,  and 
leave  the  widow  to  struggle  against  poverty  with  her  brood  of 
youngsters.  But  He  who  sitteth  on  the  circle  of  the  heavens 
ordered  a  great  blessing  to  spring  out  of  apparent  ruin.  It  was 
needful  for  every  member  of  the  family  to  bear  the  yoke,  and 
to  feel  the  necessity  of  personal  self-denial  and  exertion.  I'hey 
were  living  on  a  farm  which  was  mortgaged,  and  had  to  toil  fof 
bread  in  a  land  where  nature  yields  scanty  nourishment  even 
to  hard  workers.  But  on  her  rugged  breast  she  nurtures 
strength  and  self-reliance.  The  boy  Dwight  there  learned  how 
to  labor  with  his  body,  obtained  physical  vigor,  and  stored  up 
nervous  energy,  which  have  served  him  well  in  the  gigantic, 
labors  he  has  since  performed,  and  is  now  cheerfully  sustaining 
in  his  evangelistic  enterprises. 

He  was  not  deprived  of  opportunities  for  schooling,  but  his 
intense  activity  of  body  led  him  to  seek  out-of-door  employments 
and  sports  rather  than  the  privileges  and  pleasures  of  study  in 
the  school-room.  This  was  not  an  unmixed  evil,  because  it 
assured  his  corporal  vigor  which  makes  his  present  work  possi- 
ble. But  it  caused  him  bitter  mortification  and  many  poignant 
regrets,  when  he  came  upon  the  stage  of  life,  and  discovered 
his  great  deficiencies.     These  he  has  faithfully  sought  to  remove 


14  Moody's  early  life. 

by  constant  reading,  observation,  and  self-improvement  There 
is  also  an  indirect  advantage  in  this  want  of  culture  which  is 
not  to  be  overlooked.  Many  an  educated  man  is  timid  by 
reason  of  his  knowledge,  while  ignorance  is  bold.  "  They  that 
know  nothing  fear  nothing."  *'  Fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear 
to  tread."  A  mistake  in  grammar  or  rhetoric,  in  chronology  or 
exegesis  would  crush  a  sensitive  scholar  ;  while  the  ignorant 
man  may  go  on  over  a  thousand  of  "  the  king's  English  "  slain 
and  be  confident  and  unconscious,  and  hence  strong  and  vic- 
torious. Too  much  knowledge  or  education  may  be  as  fatal  as 
too  little.  Self-made  men  often  owe  their  success  to  their  igno- 
rance, and  reach  their  goal  because  they  pay  no  attention  to 
the  old  beaten  paths,  but  mark  out  a  course  for  themselves 
more  direct  and  practical  than  that  which  others  pursue  because 
it  is  respectable  and  ancient.  To  Mr.  Moody  blunders  are 
nothing,  provided  he  gains  the  end  of  his  ministry  and  wins 
souls.  Efficiency  is  the  only  thing  he  cares  about.  Let  others 
make  fine  finished  sentences  to  tickle  men's  ears  and  satisfy  the 
learned,  he  hurls  plain  truths  in  strong  simple  forms  at  men  to 
hit  them,  casts  his  net  to  catch  their  souls,  and  stops  not  to 
amuse  them,  but  with  tears  seeks  to  save  the  lost.  His  want  of 
learning  and  culture  has  given  him  boldness  and  effectiveness, 
while  his  strong  sense  and  native  refinement  save  him  from  vul- 
garity or  fatal  mistakes. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  rich  men's  sons  are  put  at  a  dis- 
advantage in  the  race  of  life  by  the  clogs  and  fetters  of  riches. 
They  are  too  heavily  weighted  to  run  well.  One  of  these  young 
men  who  feels  this,  wrote  his  mother  earnestly  as  follows: 
**  How  about  those  *  friends '  I  spoke  of?  they  probably  think 
themselves  very  kmd  but  the  ones  you  name  are  the  very 
*  friends '  who  would  have  seen  me  stagnate,  or  petrify,  without 
doing  a  thing  to  prevent  it.  I  was  A.  B.  there  with  a  fortune 
left  me  and  therefore  bound  to  go  to  the  devil ;  and  if  I  had  not 
determined  to  go  west  instead  they  would  only  have  sighed  over 
my  sad  fate  and  said,  '  I  told  you  so.'  The  most  unfortunate 
man  in  the  world  is  one  whom  everybody  considers  'provided 
for.'     A  poor   boy  is   encouraged,  praised,  helped.     One  who 


Moody's  icarly  life.  15 

has  money  or  a  prospect  of  any  must  shift  for  himself,  and  al- 
though he  needs  assistance  and  encouragement  as  much  as  any- 
one, although  he  is  exposed  to  temptations  which  the  poorer 
fellow  knows  nothing  about,  although  he  is  exposed  above  all  to 
the  temptation  of  idleness,  he  has  nothing  but  his  own  manliness 
to  pull  him  through.  Lucky  for  him,  if  he  has  some  manliness 
left.  But  this  is  not  a  sermon,  though  I  should  like  to  preach 
one  from  this  text." 

Such  a  sigh  from  the  depths  of  a  boy's  heart  is  a  revelation 
of  things  unseen,  which  is  full  of  instruction.  It  ought  to  stop 
the  growling  and  murmuring  of  those  who  are  born  in  poverty 
or  amidst  lowly  conditions,  and  teach  them  that  those  whom 
they  envy  are  by  no  means  as  happy  and  fortunate  in  their  own 
eyes  as  they  seem  to  be.  The  great  principle  of  compensation 
appears  in  all  the  relations  and  situations  of  human  life,  bal- 
ancing circumstances  that  are  not  under  our  control  and  giving 
us  all  equal  chances  in  the  conflict. 

Now  young  Moody  on  the  bleak  hills  of  Northfield,  in  the 
farm-house  of  a  widowed  mother,  and  destitute  of  learning, 
seems  not  to  have  been,  humanly  speaking,  well  situated  to 
carve  out  a  useful  and  wide-reaching  destiny.  But  the  very 
meagreness  of  opportunities  there,  and  the  necessities  of  strug- 
gle urged  him  out  of  the  home-nest,  and  made  him  stretch  his 
wings  for  a  higher  flight.  He  has  no  reason  to  quarrel  with  the 
ways  of  Providence.  God  was  girding  him  when  he  knew  it 
not.  An  elder  son  left  home,  and  was  not  heard  of  for  many 
years.  Perhaps  this  made  the  lad  at  home  restless  and  un- 
easy. 

Did  it  not  nourish  the  pathetic  element,  so  strong  in  his  na- 
ture, to  see  his  mother  suffering  under  the  double  bereavement, 
and  mourning  over  her  dead  husband  and  her  absent  boy.? 
How  tenderly  he  tells  the  sad  story  of  his  brother's  de- 
parture, long  silence,  and  final  return  in  manhood.  He 
stands  at  his  mother's  door  unknown,  and  is  invited  to  come  in 
by  her  while  he  says,  "  No,  not  till  my  mother  forgives  me." 
When  she  hears  these  words,  she  melts  and  with  tears  and  ca- 
resses foi gives  and  welcomes  the  prodigal.     And  thus,  he  tells 


l6  MOODY'S    EARLY    LIFE. 

the  sinner,  does  God  forgive  and  receive  those  who  seek  Him. 
The  domestic  affections  are  strong  and  susceptible  in  him,  and 
they  afford  him  powerful  sources  of  appeal.  He  was  a  kind 
and  loving  son,  and  amidst  all  his  wild  boisterous  plays,  and 
his  passionate  outbreaks,  his  fondness  for  his  mother  acted  as  a 
conservative  influence.  She  was  a  Unitarian  in  doctrine,  and 
reared  her  children  to  fear  the  Lord.  Dwight  was  not  specially 
religious  in  his  youth.  He  had  a  will  that  did  not  easily  yield, 
and  a  nature  that  did  not  express  dependence.  In  a  hard 
place  at  one  time,  he  used  every  means  in  his  power  to  extricate 
himself,  and  when  no  one  would  hear,  he  thought  of  asking  God, 
and  no  sooner  had  he  made  one  prayer,  something  like  Peter's 
*'Lord  save  or  I  perish,"  than  he  felt  new  energy  throbbing  in 
his  whole  frame  and  he  lifted  the  burden  and  was  free.  How 
often  since  has  he  been  pressed  almost  to  death,  and  obtained 
help  from  God  by  prayer ! 

Take  a  single  example.  In  the  great  convention  at  the 
Hippodrome  in  New  York,  where  several  thousand  ministers 
were  present,  *' the  topic,"  says  a  leading  editor,  "was  how  to 
reach  the  non-churchgoers.  Heart-stirring  words  had  been 
spoken  by  several  ministers  and  laymen,  when  Mr.  Moody  felt 
constrained,  against  all  his  habits,  to  communicate  a  personal 
experience  he  had  passed  through  about  four  years  before.  He 
had  been  preaching  day  after  day,  and  the  fruits  were  small  and 
few.  In  his  distress  he  walked  the  streets  of  a  great  city  by 
night,  and  the  cry  of  his  soul  was  for  the  anointing  of  the 
Sjjirit.  God  heard  his  cry,  and  gave  him  then  and  there  what 
he  had  begged  for.  Words  could  not  express  its  influence  upon 
him.  He  had  been  trying  to  pump  water  out  of  a  well  that 
seemed  dry.  He  had  pumped  with  all  his  might,  and  little 
water  came.  Now  it  seemed  that  God  had  made  his  soul  like 
an  artesian  well,  that  could  never  fail  of  water.  He  preached 
again.  The  power  of  the  Spirit  was  upon  him  and  tJie  people. 
Many  were  converted.  He  then,  with  a  tenderness  begotten 
of  God,  urged  upon  every  Christian  the  present  duty  of  being 
himself  as  a  never-failing  artesian  well — always  filled  with  the 
Spirit.     Those  who  earnestly  desired  to  be  thus  filled  were  re- 


Moody's  early  life.  17 

quested  to  arise.  The  whole  vast  congregation  seemed  to  do 
so.  Now  stand,  said  Mr.  Moody,  while  we  pray.  He  prayed, 
but  his  feelings  were  too  profound  for  anything  but  broken  ut- 
terances. Every  heart  was  deeply  moved,  and  when  the  prayer 
ended,  the  Hippodrome  was  literally  a  place  of  tears.  It  was 
an  hour  never  to  be  forgotten." 

His  prayers  are  always  the  pleadings  of  a  man  in  earnest, 
and  while  he  prays  for  himself  and  others  as  if  he  were  engaged 
in  no  make-believe  performance,  he  also  loves  to  enlist  others 
in  prayer  for  him  and  his  work.  It  was  the  grand  hero  of 
faith  and  works,  the  chief  champion  of  Christianity,  Paul  the 
great  apostle,  who  said,  "  Brethren,  pray  for  us."  And  so  Mr. 
Moody  feels  strong  only  when  he  knows  that  the  prayers  of 
godly  people  are  sustaining  his  labors.  He  has  the  boldness 
of  simplicity,  sincerity,  and  conscious  need.  When  he  called 
on  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop  of  Chicago  to  request  him  to 
prevent  the  children  from  breaking  the  windows  of  his  mission 
school,  he  asked  the  aged  prelate  to  pray  for  him.  And  when 
he  had  done  so,  Mr.  Moody,  before  they  rose,  prayed  for  the 
bishop.  There  was  friendship  between  them  and  no  more 
damage  was  done  nor  hindrance  to  his  work  from  that  quarter. 


MOODY'S    EARLY    LIFE. 


CHAPTER   III. 

OUT    IN   THE   WORLD. 

The  vitality  that  wrought  in  the  boy's  being  and  made  him 
sturdy,  eager,  and  a  leader  in  his  little  circle,  pushed  him  out 
into  the  great  world  where  he  might  win  fortune  like  other  men. 
He  had  uncles  in  Boston  who  were  merchants,  and  who  could 
help  him  make  a  start  if  they  would.  Hither  unheralded  he 
went  with  a  settled  purpose  to  become  connected  with  some 
house  where  he  might  learn  business  and  acquire  the  means  of 
success.  Too  proud  to  ask  his  relatives  to  aid  him  at  first,  he 
soon  however  availed  himself  of  their  kind  offices,  and  entered 
into  his  uncle's  employ.  This  man  was  an  orthodox  christian, 
a  member  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  church,  of  the  Congregationalist 
order,  and  his  pastor  was  Rev.  E.  N.  Kirk,  D.  D.,  a  man  after 
God's  own  heart.  To  this  place  of  worship  young  Moody  was, 
as  it  were,  indentured,  by  his  employer,  and  its  services  he  was 
obligated  to  attend — a  circumstance  of  great  importance  and 
value  to  the  country  boy. 

It  was  remarked,  at  a  meeting  in  New  York  held  in  honor 
of  one  of  its  leading  merchants,  by  the  gentleman  thus  compli- 
mented, that  when  he  came  to  the  city  he  at  once  was  offered  a 
seat  in  church  by  a  wealthy  man,  which  he  accepted.  He  also 
made  it  a  rule  from  the  beginning  not  to  have  any  associate 
who  would  do  him  any  harm,  or  of  whom  he  would  be  likely  to 
be  ashamed.  The  two  points  thus  established  were  cardinal — • 
they  determined  his  course  and  gave  him  standing  and  influence 
as  a  young  man.  The  church  was  a  source  of  cultivation,  and 
its  associations  were  ennobling,  while  he  allowed  no  evil  com- 
panion to  undo  the  good  work  there  wrought  in  him  or 
drag  hmi  down  to  infamy.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  this  new 
force  began  to  operate  upon  the  intellect  and  conscience,  and 


MOODY  S    EARLY    LIFE.  1 9 

to  form  the  character  of  young  Moody.  It  was  a  hard  trial  for 
him  to  mingle  with  persons  more  refined  and  better  educated 
than  himself,  but  he  bravely  persisted  in  his  attendance  at 
church  and  the  Bible  Class.  His  teacher,  Mr.  Kimball,  labored 
for  him  assiduously  and  patiently,  and  lodged  the  truth  so  ef- 
fectually in  his  heart  that  he  became  a  believer  ;  but  such  was 
his  dulness  and  ignorance  of  truth  that  the  church  felt  con- 
strained to  keep  him  as  a  learner  outside  the  fold  for  many 
months,  till  he  could  give  an  intelligent  account  of  his  new  life 
of  faith.  There  was  no  precocity  of  any  sort,  nothing  startling 
or  promising  in  his  early  course.  He  had  a  courage  that  car- 
ried him  forward  in  spite  of  his  defects,  and  an  aspiration  that 
led  him  to  rise  above  circumstances  and  strive  after  excellence. 
He  seldom  spoke  in  the  meetings,  and  his  zeal  lay  as  a  smoul- 
dering fire  within  him.  The  revival-spirit  of  this  church  and 
its  earnest  pastor  was  infused  into  his  veins  ;  and  he  was  receiv- 
ing an  education  that  influenced  his  whole  career.  No  work 
was  laid  out  for  him  into  which  he  could  throw  his  rugged  en- 
ergies, and  he  was  not  contented.  Meanwhile  he  had  con- 
tinued his  business  life  with  characteristic  spirit,  and  he  sighed 
for  a  broader  field  and  grander  opportunities.  Chicago  was  the 
star  in  the  West  which  led  thousands  of  aspiring  and  ambitious 
youth  to  forsake  the  old  fields  overcrowded  and  less  promising, 
for  the  broad  and  boundless  land  of  the  setting  sun.  Eager  for 
work,  and  ready  for  anything  that  off'ered  honorable  success,  the 
Yankee  boy,  now  nearly  twenty  years  old,  in  September,  1856,^ 
lands  in  the  metropolis  of  the  Northwest.  That  city,  like  all 
large  towns,  has  absorbed  vast  numbers  of  young  men,  some  of 
whom  have  found  a  short  road  to  ruin,  and  others  have  gallantly 
earned  victory  and  its  rewards.  The  majority  thus  cast  into 
the  whirlpool  are  drawn  into  its  fatal  depths  beyond  the  reach 
of  light  and  hope.  Our  hero  had  two  safeguards,  a  recommen- 
dation to  an  honorable  house  where  he  was  employed  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  a  church  letter  which  at  once  opened  to  him  an 
acquaintance  with  christian  people  and  opportunities  for  doing 
good.  In  his  secular  business  he  proved  himself  "  a  workman 
that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,"  and  in  religious  work  he  con- 


2D  MOODY  S    EARLY    LIFE. 

secrated  his  energies,  doing  with  his  might  whatsoever  his  hand 
found  to  do.  When  he  could  not  be  and  do  what  he  desired  in 
one  church,  he  allied  his  fortunes  with  another ;  and  reaching 
forth  with  the  cry  of  Xavier,  "  Yet  more,  oh  my  God  !  yet  more,'' 
he  plunged  into  the  dark  places,  heathenish  regions  such  as  all 
cities  contain,  and  there  literally  fought  his  way  through  with 
all-conquering  persistence,  till  he  saw  them  renovated  by  the 
Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 

There  were  others  doing  the  same  kind  of  work,  and  gradu- 
ally these  congenial  spirits  clustered  under  Moody  in  a  mission 
in  the  North  Market  Hall,  which  proved  a  vast  power  for  good. 
To  this  mighty  undertaking  he  pushed,  through  countless  ob- 
stacles, with  no  church  to  back  him.  The  ignorant  rude  boy 
had  developed  into  manhood  and  found  use  for  every  idea  he 
had  ever  got,  and  every  pound  of  physical  strength  he  had  ac- 
cumuL'Aed  ;  because  the  audiences  he  addressed,  whether  small 
or  large,  were  in  great  need  of  enlightenment,  and  some  of  them 
resisted  instruction  even  unto  blood.  In  other  words  he  had 
literally  to  subdue  with  blows  the  precious  pupils  who  came  un- 
der his  tuition,  and  he  seemed  to  enjoy  it.  He  was  pleased 
with  the  results  of  his  efforts ;  for  these  conquered  boys  often 
proved  his  true  friends  and  helpers,  and  were  sometimes  led 
thus  to  submit  to  a  higher  will  and  become  servants  of  God. 
What  he  underwent  can  never  be  fitly  told  except  by  him,  and 
he  only  now  and  then  ventures  on  the  narration  of  his  exploits. 
The  following  incident  is  characteristic.  Mr.  Moody  was  illus- 
trating the  way  to  get  people  to  work  for  the  souls  of  others 
when  he  said :  The  most  precious  hours  I  ever  spent  were  em- 
ployed going  from  house  to  house  preaching  Christ.  There  is 
plenty  of  work,  the  fields  are  already  white  for  the  harvest.  I  re- 
member one  time  in  Chicago  I  was  asked  to  take  an  interest  in 
the  children  of  a  saloon-keeper  who  was  a  notorious  infidel.  I 
took  liie  man's  address.  I  went  down  and  found  the  old  fellow 
behind  the  bar.  I  told  him  my  errand,  but  I  had  to  get  out  a 
good  deal  quicker  than  I  got  in.  I  thought  I  would  try  him  the 
second  time,  when  he  would  be  a  little  less  under  the  influence 
of  drink,  but  he  made  me  get  out  again.     I  went  back  then  the 


MOODY'S    EARLY   LIFE.  21 

third  time.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  look  here,  young  man,  you  were 
talking  about  the  Bible  :  I  will  read  the  New  Testament  if  you 
will  read  Paine's  "Age  of  Reason."  "  Agreed,"  said  I,  but  he 
had  the  best  of  the  bargain.  (Laughter.)  I  had  a  hard  job  to 
read  it  through.  I  went  down  to  the  saloon  to  find  out  how  he 
was  getting  on.  All  the  time  he  would  talk  about  Paine's 
"  Age  of  Reason."  One  Saturday  I  tried  to  get  him  to  go  to 
church  Sunday.  "  Now,"  he  says,  "  if  you  want  church,  you 
must  have  it  in  my  saloon.  This  is  as  good  a  church  as  any  in 
Chicago.  You  can  have  preaching  here  if  you  want  to." 
"  Well,"  says  I,  "  to-morrow  morning  at  ii  o'clock  I'll  be  here." 
"Look  here,  young  man,  I  want  to  do  part  of  it  myself."  I 
said,  "Now  let  us  distinctly  understand  how  much  you  and  I 
will  have.  Now  suppose  you  and  your  friends  take  the  first 
forty-five  minutes  and  I  take  the  last  fifteen."  He  agreed  to 
this.  That  Sunday  morning  I  took  a  little  boy  with  me  that 
God  had  taught  how  to  pray.  That  is  some  years  ago  and  I 
remember  how  weak  I  felt  as  I  went  down  to  that  infidel 
saloon.  I  found  when  I  got  around  he  had  gone  to  a  neighbor- 
ing saloon  where  he  engaged  two  rooms  with  folding  doors,  and 
had  them  filled  with  infidels  and  deists  and  all  shades  of  belief. 
They  first  began  to  ask  me  questions,  but  I  said :  "  Now  you 
go  on  for  your  forty-five  minutes  and  I  shall  listen."  So  they 
got  to  wrangling  among  themselves.  (Laughter.)  Some 
thought  there  was  a  Jesus  and  some  not.  When  the  time  was 
up,  I  said  :  "  Now  look  here,  my  friends,  your  time  is  up  ;  we 
always  open  our  meetings  with  prayer."  After  I  had  prayed, 
the  little  boy  cried  to  God  to  have  mercy  on  these  men.  They 
got  up  one  by  one,  one  going  out  by  this  door  and  one  by  an- 
other. They  were  all  gone  very  soon.  The  old  infidel  put  his 
hand  on  my  shoulder,  and  said  I  might  have  his  children.  He 
has  since  been  one  of  the  best  friands  I  had  in  Chicago.  So 
you  see  it  must  be  personal  work  with  us  all 


2  2  Moody's  early  lifb. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


MISSION   WORK. 


His  work  for  Christ,  special  religious  duty  and  service,  after 
he  came  to  Chicago,  was  begun  almost  simultaneously  with  his 
secular  business.  He  had  to  gain  a  foothold  for  personal  sup- 
port, and  then  he  struck  out  for  work  for  the  Master.  Says 
one  of  his  biographers  : 

"  On  Sunday  he  sought  out  a  Mission  Sunday-school,  and 
offered  his  services  as  a  teacher.  He  was  informed  that  the 
school  had  a  full  supply  of  teachers,  but  if  he  would  gather  a 
class,  he  might  occupy  a  seat  in  the  school-room.  The  next 
Sabbath  he  appeared  with  eighteen  boys,  and  a  place  was  as- 
signed him  for  his  new  and  rough  recruits.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  his  mission  to  'the  masses.'  On  that  day  he 
unfolded  his  theory  of  how  *  to  reach  the  masses' — '  Go  for 
them.' 

"  Soon  after,  he  commenced  the  '  North  Market  Hall  Mis- 
sion-school.' I'he  old  market  hall  was  used  on  Saturday  nights 
for  dancing  ;  and  after  the  motley  crowd  had  dispersed,  Mr. 
Moody  and  his  associates  spent  the  late  hours  of  Saturday 
night  and  the  early  hours  of  Sunday  morning  in  removing  the 
sawdust  and  filth,  cleansing  the  floor,  and  putting  the  room  in 
order  for  their  Christian  work.  The  repetition  of  this  kind  of 
labor  week  after  week  was  obviously  not  very  agreeable  j  but 
it  was  cheerfully  rendered  by  a  youngs  man  who  lived  for  one 
object — the  salvation  of  souls.  In  this  hall  the  school  was 
held  for  six  years,  and  increased  to  over  one  thousand  mem- 
bers. Many  were  brought  to  Jesus  ;  and  the  work  was  carried 
forward  amidst  marked  encouragements  and  discouragements. 

"Finding  it  extremely  difficult  to  hold  piayer-meelings  or 
Sabbath-eveuiijg   services    in    this    hall,  Mr.   Moody   rented  a 


MOODY  S    EARLY    LIFE.  23 

Baloon  that  would  accommodate  about  two  hundred  persons. 
He  boarded  up  the  side  windows,  and  furnished  it  with  un- 
painted  pine-board  seats.  It  was  a  dismal,  unventilated  place, 
and  during  service  it  was  necessary  to  have  policemen  to  guard 
the  door  and  building.  Here  he  collected  the  poor  and  the 
vicious  ;  and  sought,  by  melting  appeals  and  fervent  prayers, 
to  lead  hardened  sinners  to  abandon  their  evil  courses,  and 
accept  the  offers  of  salvation." 

Says  another:  "The  man  who  maybe  Q.2\\^Ay  par  excelleticc^ 
the  Lightning  Christian  of  the  Lightning  City  is  Mr.  Moody, 
the  President  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  a 
man  whose  name  is  a  household  word  in  connection  with  mis- 
sionary work.  I  went  to  one  of  his  mission  schools,  and  have 
rarely  beheld  such  a  scene  of  high-pressure  evangelization.  It 
made  me  think  irresistibly  of  those  breathing  steamboats  on 
the  Mississippi,  that  must  either  go  fast  or  burst.  Mr.  Moody 
himself  moved  energetically  about  the  school  most  of  the  time, 
seeing  that  every  body  was  at  work,  throwing  in  a  word  where 
he  thought  it  necessary,  and  inspiring  every  one  with  his  own 
enthusiasm. 

*'  As  soon  as  the  classes  had  been  going  on  for  a  specific 
number  of  minutes,  he  mounted  a  platform,  rang  a  bell,  and 
addressed  the  children.  He  is  a  keen,  dark-eyed  man,  with  a 
somewhat  shrill  voice,  but  with  thorough  earnestness  of  manner 
and  delivery.  His  remarks  w'ere  few,  but  pointed  and  full  of 
interrogation,  keeping  the  children  on  their  mettle.  It  is  one 
of  his  first  principles,  never,  in  any  of  the  religious  exercises,  to 
allow  the  interest  or  attention  of  the  audience  to  flag  for  an 
instant.  At  a  great  religious  convention  held  at  Chicago  to 
which  five  hundred  delegates  came  from  all  parts  of  the  United 
States,  he  got  a  resolution  passed  that  no  one  should  be  al- 
lowed more  than  three  minutes  for  his  speech.  The  result  was 
that  an  immense  number  got  an  opportunity  for  speaking,  and 
an  admirable  check  was  put  on  the  American  tendency  to  co- 
pious flowery  oratory.  Every  man  had  to  dash  in  mcdias  rcs^ 
at  once,  say  what  he  had  to  say  without  loss  of  words,  and 
leave  out  all  minor  points  to  get  time  for  the  points  of  most  im- 


24  MOODY  S    EARLY    LIFE. 

portance.  One  or  two  of  Moody's  remarks  were,  *  Services  are 
not  made  interesting  enough,  so  as  to  get  unconverted  people 
to  come.  They  are  not  expected  to  come,  and  people  would 
be  mortified  if  they  did  come.  Don't  get  into  a  rut.  I  abomi- 
nate ruts.     There  are  few  things  that  I  dread  more.' 

"  Though  earnest  in  his  piety,  and  full  of  religious  conversa- 
tion, Moody  has  no  patience  with  mere  cant,  and  wants  every 
body  to  prove  his  sincerity  by  his  acts.  At  a  meeting  in  behalf 
of  a  struggling  charity,  a  wealthy  layman,  loud  in  his  religious 
professions,  offered  up  a  prayer  that  the  Lord  would  move  the 
hearts  of  the  people  to  contribute  the  sum  required.  Mr. 
Moody  rose,  and  said  that  all  the  charity  wanted  was  only  two 
thousand  dollars,  and  that  he  considered  it  absurd  for  a  marl 
with  half  a  million  to  get  up  and  ask  the  Lord  to  do  any  thing 
in  the  matter,  when  he  could  himself,  with  a  mere  stroke  of  his 
pen,  do  all  that  was  needed,  and  ten  times  more,  and  never 
feel  the  difference. 

"The  first  thing  Mr.  Moody  does  with  those  whom  he  suc- 
ceeds in  bringing  under  Christian  influences  is,  to  turn  them  to 
account  in  pushing  on  the  good  work.  He  considers  no  place 
too  bad,  no  class  too  hardened,  to  be  despaired  of.  He  some- 
times takes  a  choir  of  young  people,  well  trained  in  singing,  to 
the  low  drinking  saloons,  to  help  him  in  wooing  the  drunkards 
and  gamblers  away  to  the  meetings.  On  one  such  occasion, 
which  was  described  to  me,  he  entered  one  of  these  dens  with 
his  choir,  and  said,  'Would  you  like  to  have  a  song,  gentle- 
men?' No  objection  was  offered,  and  the  children  sung  a  pa- 
triotic song  in  fine  style,  eliciting  great  applause.  Mr.  Moody 
then  had  a  hymn  sung  by  them,  and  meanwhile  went  round 
giving  tracts  to  those  present.  When  the  hymn  was  over  he 
said,  'We  shall  now  have  a  word  of  prayer.'  'No,  no,'  cried 
several  in  alarm,  'no  prayer  here.'  *  Oh  yes,  we'll  have  a  few 
words  of  prayer.  Quiet  for  a  minute,  gentlemen,'  he  said,  and 
proceeded  to  offer  up  a  few  earnest  petitions.  Some  of  the 
men  were  touched  ;  and  when  he  invited  them  to  go  with  him 
to  his  meeting  and  hear  more  about  salvation,  half  of  them  rose 
and  went.     It  is  believed  that  if  Pandemonium  were  accessible, 


MOODY'S    EARLY    LIFE.  2$ 

Mr.  Moody  would  have  a  mission  started  there  within  a  week." 
Mr.  Reynolds  of  Peoria  said  recently,  as  if  in  illustration  of  this 
last  remark : 

"The  first  meeting  I  ever  saw  him  at  was  in  a  little  old 
shanty  that  had  been  abandoned  by  a  saloon-keeper.  Mr. 
Moody  had  got  the  place  to  hold  the  meeting  in  at  night.  I 
went  there  a  little  late  ;  an4  the  first  thing  I  saw  was  a  man 
standing  up,  with  a  few  tallow  candles  around  him.  holding  a 
negro  boy,  and  trying  to  read  to  him  the  story  of  the  Prodigal 
Son ;  and  a  great  many  of  the  words  he  could  not  make  out, 
and  had  to  skip.  I  thought,  If  the  Lord  can  ever  use  such  an 
instrument  as  that  for  his  honor  and  glory,  it  will  astonish  me. 
After  that  meeting  was  over  Mr.  Moody  said  to  me,  '  Reynolds, 
I  have  got  only  one  talent :  I  have  no  education,  but  I  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  want  to  do  something  for  Him  :  and 
I  want  you  to  pray  for  me.'  I  have  never  ceased  from  that  day 
to  this,  morning  and  night,  to  pray  for  that  devoted  Christian 
soldier.  I  have  watched  him  since  then,  have  had  counsel  with 
him,  and  know  him  thoroughly  ;  and,  for  consistent  walk  and 
conversation,  I  have  never  met  a  man  to  equal  him.  It  as- 
tounds me  when  I  look  back  and  see  what  Mi.  Moody  was 
thirteen  years  ago,  and  then  what  he  is  under  God  to-day — 
shaking  Scotland  to  its  very  centre,  and  reaching  now  over  to 
Ireland. 

"The  last  time  I  heard  from  him,  his  injunction  was,  '  Pray 
for  me  every  day  ;  pray  now  that  God  will  keep  me  humble.'  " 

"  I  shall  always  remember  Mr.  Moody,"  says  one  ;  "  for  he 
was  the  means  of  leading  me  to  Christ.  I  was  in  a  railway 
train  one  day,  when  a  stout,  cheery-looking  stranger  came  in 
and  sat  down  in  the  seat  beside  me.  We  were  passing  through 
a  beautiful  country,  to  which  he  called  my  attention  saying, — • 

"  *  Did  you  ever  think  what  a  good  Heavenly  Father  we  have, 
to  give  us  such  a  pleasant  world  to  live  in  ? ' 

"  I  made  some  indifferent  answer ;  upon  which  he  earnestly 
inquired, — 

"'  Are  you  a  Christian  ?' 

"  I  answered,  *  No.' 


a6  Moody's  early  life. 

"  *  Then,'  said  he,  *  you  ought  to  be  one  at  once.  I  am  to 
get  off  at  the  next  station,  but  if  you  will  kneel  down,  right 
here,  I  will  pray  to  the  Lord  to  make  you  a  Christian.' 

"  Scarcely  knowing  what  I  did,  I  knelt  down  beside  him 
there,  in  the  car  filled  with  passengers,  and  he  prayed  for  me 
with  all  his  heart.  Just  then  the  train  drew  up  at  the  station, 
and  he  had  only  time  to  get  off  before  it  started  again. 

"  Suddenly  coming  to  myself  out  of  what  seemed  more  like 
a  dream  than  a  reality,  I  rushed  out  on  the  car  platform,  and 
shouted  after  him,  *  Tell  me  who  you  are  ! ' 

"  He  replied,  *  My  name  is  Moody.' 

"  I  never  could  shake  off  the  conviction  which  then  took 
hold  upon  me,  until  the  strange  man  was  answered,  and  I  had 
become  a  Christian  man." 

Thus  he  wrought  with  men  wherever  he  could  find  open  ears 
to  hear  the  message  of  salvation,  whether  in  the  saloon,  the 
railway  car,  the  mission  building  or  the  sanctuary. 

His  soul  being  intent  on  saving  men,  he  knew  that  by  join- 
ing others  in  his  Christian  enterprises  he  would  thus  vastly 
multiply  his  usefulness.  He  accordingly  made  himself  a  re- 
cruiting agent  for  his  school,  and  brought  the  neglected  multi- 
tudes of  the  North  side  into  classes  taught  by  such  helpers  as 
he  could  yoke  up  with  himself.  The  population  of  his  district 
was  largely  made  up  of  Germans  and  other  foreigners,  who  are 
accustomed  to  a  Sabbath  not  of  the  Puritanic  but  rather  the 
Satanic  sort. 

With  wonted  shrewdness,  he  took  advantage  of  the  love  of 
music,  and  got  a  singer  to  entertain  those  who  gathered.  His 
great  object  was  never  for  a  moment  forgotten,  and  soon  there 
were  converts,  and  prayer  meetings,  and  all  the  materials  for  a 
church,  vshich  was  duly  formed  and  folded  and  shepherded  by 
*'  Deacon  Moody  "  as  he  is  familiarly  called  by  the  young  peo- 
ple, who  are  very  fond  of  him.  This  was  the  natural  order  of 
extraordinary  devotion  and  ability  on  the  part  of  him  who  was 
the  soul  of  the  enterprise.  For  years  he  let  no  day  pass  with- 
out speaking  to  some  one  personally  about  the  welfare  of  his 
soul.     He  also  addressed  large  numbers  of  people,  old  and 


MOODYS    EARLY   LIFE.  2^ 

young,  and  always  pressed  them  with  Bible  truth.  He  could 
not  but  see  fruit  from  such  whole-hearted  consecration  and 
scriptural  methods.  Fruit  he  would  have.  The  same  eager- 
ness throbbed  in  his  soul,  which  John  Knox  felt,  when  he  said: 
"  Give  me  Scotland  or  I  die."  He  had  a  mission,  and  it  was 
no  dreamer's  idle  wish,  but  God's  call  to  the  salvation  of  lost 
men.  So  he  toiled  on  with  his  Bible,  with  inquirers,  with  the 
hardened,  desperate  and  wretched,  whom  he  followed  to  theii 
dens,  garrets,  cellars,  homes,  places  of  amusement  and  labor, 
ever  holding  forth  the  word  of  life  as  a  light  in  a  dark  place. 


28  Moody's  early  lifb. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   FIELD   WIDENS. 

Mr.  Moody  early  became  a  member  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  Chicago,  and  punctually  attended  the 
daily  noon  meetings.  Nor  did  he  feel  it  to  be  his  duty  to  come 
alone  or  keep  silent.  He  worked  valiantly  to  engage  others  in 
the  labors  of  the  association,  to  draw  in  people  to  the  meetings, 
and  to  give  attractiveness  to  the  exercises.  His  zeal  flamed 
up  and  was  fanned  into  a  consuming  fire,  which  burned  the 
cords  that  bound  him  to  business  and  made  him  a  holocaust  on 
God's  altar.  He  gave  himself  wholly  to  work  for  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  was  greatly  honored  by  Him.  For  he  was 
chosen  president  of  the  association  after  holding  other  offices, 
and  obtained  the  means  necessary  to  build  a  hall,  which  was 
named  from  the  chief  contributor  to  the  building  fund  "  Farwell 
Hall."  This  became  the  centre  of  attraction  for  public  gather- 
ings, but  was  burned,  not  in  the  great  fire  that  desolated  the 
city  in  October  187 1,  but  in  the  winter  of  1868.  A  second 
edifice  was  projected  and  completed  under  the  practical  leader- 
ship of  Moody,  which  stood  longer  than  the  first,  and  was  a 
glorious  arena  for  the  servants  of  Christ.  These  were  triumphs 
of  sagacity  and  perseverance  which  might  well  have  exacted 
the  whole  time  and  care  of  the  young  apostle.  But  he  was  car- 
rying on  during  these  years  his  own  vast  mission  and  church 
work,  besides  giving  much  time  to  conventions  and  evangeliz- 
ing tours,  and  to  the  service  of  the  Chris'iian  Commission. 
Such  was  the  largeness  of  his  heart,  and  his  evident  sincerity, 
that  he  could  share  with  any  true  Christian  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord,  and  not  provoke  jealousy  or  create  a  breach  of  confidence. 
Men  of  all  sects  and  churches  honored  and  trusted  him,  and 
were  ready  to  do  his  bidding.     He  had  one  controlling  purpose 


MOODYS    EARLY    LIFE.  29 

In  common  with  all  believers  who  were  aggressive,  and  he  was 
so  thoroughly  independent  that  nobody  claimed  him.  He 
labored  for  the  benefit  of  the  church  universal,  and  men  gave 
him  credit  for  unselfishness,  and  a  single  eye. 

In  all  these  dark  days  of  war,  he  threw  himself  into  the 
camps  near  home,  and  there  preached  the  Gospel  and  won 
souls.  He  was  president  of  the  Chicago  branch  of  the  Chris- 
tian Commission  of  which  George  H.  Stuart,  of  Philadelphia, 
was  president  in  chief,  and  whose  name  is  fragrant  in  all  lands. 
He  went  out  half  a  score  of  times  to  the  front,  with  supplies 
and  with  the  healing  mercies  of  the  blessed  Gospel. 

When  the  confed^ate  prisoners  were  in  Camp  Douglas,  near 
Chicago,  Mr.  Moody  visited  them  with  all  the  tender  love  of  a 
brother,  and  under  his  preaching  large  numbers  were  converted 
and  confirmed  in  the  faith,  and  they  hailed  his  coming  to  cheer 
and  comfort,  to  instruct  and  evangelize  them,  with  unspeakable 
delight.  Afterward  when  he  had  opportunities  to  minister  to 
them  as  they  lay  on  the  gory  and  stricken  fields,  where  their 
bodies  were  commingled  with  the  federal  soldiers,  he  showed 
himself  the  friend  of  all  alike  as  men  having  souls  equally  dear 
to  Jesus,  and  suffering  pains  that  the  friend  of  humanity  should 
strive  to  assuage. 

In  his  sermons  he  occasionally  draws  on  his  army  experi- 
ence for  illustrations.  On  one  occasion,  describing  the  office 
of  Jesus  as  a  Deliverer  of  captives,  he  said : 

It  was  my  privilege  to  go  into  Richmond  with  General 
Grant's  army.  There  I  saw  the  captives  who  were  in  Libby 
prison.  Many  a  time  I  wept  for  hours  to  hear  what  they  en- 
dured. Sometimes  they  got  letters  or  messages  that  loved  ones 
were  dying,  and  of  course  they  could  not  go  home  to  see  them 
in  their  dying  hour.  There  they  were  in  the  prison  one  beauti- 
ful day  in  spring ;  the  news  had  been  kept  from  them  ;  they 
hadn't  heard  what  was  going  on  around  Richmond.  One  says 
while  they  were  listening,  "  I  hear  a  band  of  music  ;  they  are 
playing  the  old  battle  tune  of  the  Republic  ;  I  think  I  hear  the 
*  Star  Spangled  Banner.'  I  say,  boys,  I  believe  Richmond  is 
taken."     By-and-by  they  all  listen  and  say,  "  It  is  so."     Soon 


$0  Moody's  early  life. 

the  Northern  army  unlocked  the  gates  and  these  thousand  men 
are  set  free.  Was  not  that  good  news  ?  they  were  free  men 
and  could  now  go  to  their  wives  and  their  children  and  their 
homes.  Oh,  my  friends,  you  could  not  find  happier  men  than 
these  were.  They  had  liberty  ;  then  the  captives  were  set  free. 
That  is  what  Christ  has  come  to  do. 

Such  was  not  his  usual  experience  on  the  trips  he  made 
among  the  soldiers.  There  were  darker  days,  and  sadder 
hours,  when  his  heart  was  torn,  and  his  eyes  were  weary,  and 
his  hands  heavy,  and  his  whole  frame  worn  out  with  the  vast 
and  terrible  labors  incident  to  the  hospital,  the  battle-field,  and 
the  camp.  All  this  time  he  was  not  in  the  pay  of  any  person, 
nor  supported  by  any  society.  He  was  fed  by  ravens.  Many 
hardships  he  endured  in  his  lonely  situation,  but  God  gave  him 
friends  who  apprehended  his  needs,  and  supplied  them  as  the 
Spirit  moved.  Railroad  men  furnished  passes  for  free  travel, 
merchants  quietly  paid  his  board,  friends  saw  that  his  ward- 
robe was  kept  intact,  although  he  never  solicited  a  dollar  for 
himself.    It  was  Mliller's  Life  of  Trust  over  again. 


Moody's  early  life.  31 


CHAPTER  VI. 

DAILY   BREAD. 

When  Mr.  Moody  threw  up  his  situation  as  a  salesman,  he 
had  a  little  means  which  his  economical  habits  had  enabled 
him  to  accumulate.  He  was  exceedingly  temperate  and  puri- 
tanical in  his  ideas  of  a  mode  of  life  suited  to  a  Christian. 
The  vain  and  frivolous  pleasures,  as  well  as  the  more  costly 
and  extravagant  amusements,  which  absorb  the  energies  and 
funds  of  multitudes  of  young  men,  he  conscientiously  avoided. 
He  knew  not  the  name  of  a  card,  drank  no  spirits  or  beer, 
visited  no  theatres  or  operas,  nor  smoked  away  his  money  and 
health.  He  thus  kept  health,  piety,  and  his  earnings,  except 
what  was  given  to  the  Lord's  work.  Soon  after  he  left  all 
secular  pursuits,  he  became  really  needy,  and  almost  suffered. 
Certain  events  in  God's  providence  confirmed  his  waning  con- 
fidence, and  help  came  through  various  friends  ;  and  he  has 
always  been  made  comfortable,  though  he  has  had  no  salary  in 
any  department  of  his  service.  He  has  maintained  a  conscience 
^'oid  of  offence  towards  God  and  man  as  respects  money.  He 
has  no  itching  palm.  Nobody  ever  made  any  accusation  stick 
to  him  respecting  the  love  of  money.     He  is  an  honest  man. 

He  has  been  peculiarly  favored  by  reason  of  the  friendship 
of  able  men  and  large-hearted  associates.  In  all  his  stupen- 
dous labors  in  the  army  work  he  received  no  pay.  It  was  as 
free  as  air.  His  services  he  lavishly  gave  to  his  fellow  men  in 
camp,  and  hospital,  by  flood  and  field.  All  his  convention 
work  has  been  unpaid,  except  by  the  unsolicited  gifts  of  any 
who  felt  disposed  to  private  liberality.  He  uses  no  artifices  to 
get  money  for  himself,  although  he  knows  well  how  to  raise 
funds  for  great  public  enterprises.  After  his  marriage,  he  was 
made  the  occupant  of  an  elegant  home  near  the  scenes  of  his 


33  MOODY'S   EARLY   LIFE. 

hard  efforts  to  get  dominion  over  ignorance  and  wickedness. 
It  was  a  surprise  to  liimself  and  his  excellent  wife  to  be  led  in- 
to this  home  all  furnished  and  prepared  for  their  use  and 
shown  a  perpetual  lease  conveyed  to  them  by  appreciative 
friends.  It  was  a  noble  deed  kindly  done,  and  the  worthy 
couple  were  only  made  stronger  for  their  holy  mission. 

Mr.  Moody's  confidence  in  God  led  him  to  seek  alliance  with 
the  amiable  lady  to  whom  he  was  married  on  the  28th  of 
August,  1862.  He  believed  they  would  be  provided  for,  and 
she  shared  his  faith.  Miss  Emma  C.  Revell  is  of  a  sterling 
Baptist  family  of  English  extraction.  She  is  lovely  in  person 
and  manners  and  decidedly  christian.  Her  influence  over 
Mr.  Moody  has  been  of  the  most  helpful  kind,  and  a  happier 
family  than  this  father  and  mother,  son  and  daughter,  can  no- 
where be  found.  She  is  a  capital  worker  in  the  inquiry  meet- 
ing, and  hardly  inferior  to  the  evangelist  himself.  It  is  proba- 
bly owing  to  her  English  relationships  that  he  was  early  in- 
clined to  visit  the  mother  country,  where  he  has  gained  so 
much  power  and  left  so  great  a  blessing.  They  were  happy  in 
their  lowly  cottage,  but  gracefully  assumed  the  proprietorship 
of  their  beautiful  house  where  they  entertained  strangers  from 
abroad  with  true  western  hospitality. 

But  as  the  terrible  fire  which  devastated  Chicago  burned 
thousands  of  homes,  it  also  swept  away  their  nest,  and  drove 
them  out  into  the  company  of  the  homeless.  This  occurred 
October  9th,  187 1.  The  ruin  was  complete,  scarcely  anything 
was  saved. 

Mr.  Moody's  financial  condition  after  the  Great  Fire  was 
well  shown  by  an  incident  that  occurred  the  following  Sunday 
night.  He  had  been  invited  by  Mr.  Goodspeed,  the  pastor  of 
the  Second  Baptist  church,  to  preach  for  him.  This  invitation 
was  conveyed  to  him  by  his  brother-in-law,  W.  H.  Holden  Esq., 
Superintendent  of  the  S.  S.  of  the  Second  church,  and  accepted. 
After  sermon,  the  pastor  offered  him  ten  dollars,  with  the  re- 
ifiark,  "  this  is  all  I  have."  "  Then,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "  I 
w^on't  take  but  half  of  it,  though  I  have  not  one  cent."  An 
immense  congregation  greeted  the  preacher,  and  Dr.  Robert 


Moody's  early  life.  33 

Patterson,  who  was  present,  remarked  that  there  was  more 
Gospel  in  that  sermon  than  in  half  a  dozen  ordinary  ones. 
His  Bible,  which  he  had  snatched  from  the  flames,  he  left  on  the 
desk,  and  the  pastor  finding  it  there,  examined  it  with  care,  and 
observed  with  wonder  how  thoroughly  and  faithfully  it  had 
been  studied,  as  was  shown  by  the  ink  marks  it  bore  on  almost 
every  page.  He  had  been  wont  to  rise  before  day,  and  give 
himself  with  absolute  devotion  to  the  prayerful,  conscientious 
study  of  that  Divine  Manual  of  instruction  for  the  preacher's 
work.  Going  forth  clad  in  the  panoply  of  God,  he  has  filled 
the  world  with  his  fame  as  a  herald  of  Christ,  who  has  honored 
him  with  power  over  men  for  salvation  such  as  few  of  the 
world's  heroes  and  saints  have  ever  had. 

In  all  his  evangelizing  abroad  he  has  not  sought  filthy  lucre, 
but  repelled  every  suggestion  of  money-making.  Nor  has  he 
used  the  splendid  gifts  pressed  upon  him  as  others  have  done. 
He  has  requested  the  donors  to  apply  them  to  other  uses,  lest 
they  might  become  a  snare  to  him.  His  hands  must  be  clean, 
and  his  motives  seem  as  pure  as  they  really  are.  His  mighty 
work  he  will  not  defile  nor  belittle  by  selfishness  and  greed. 

When  about  to  go  to  England  the  last  time,  he  knew  not 
where  he  should  get  money  to  pay  his  passage,  but  trusted  in 
God  and  made  ready.  The  evening  before  his  departure,  a 
princely  supporter  and  fellow-laborer,  hearing  of  his  journey, 
placed  in  his  hands  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  saying  that 
he  would  probably  need  something  after  he  got  to  England. 
Thus  he  has  been  fed  and  nourished  by  God's  people  in  mar- 
vellous ways.  In  this  country  no  collections  are  ever  taken  for 
him  or  his  associate,  Mr.  Sankey,  and  they  discourage  public 
presentations.  Their  object  is  not  to  get  gain.  In  this 
respect  they  follow  Paul,  the  great  apostle,  as  he  followed  the 
Divine  Exemplar.  They  know  they  are  serving  for  One  who  is 
rich. 


34  MOODY*S    EARLY   LIFE. 


CHAPTER    VII, 


PERSONAL    GROWTH. 


The  Scriptures  frequently  employ  the  charming  figure  of  a 
growing  tree  to  represent  the  progress  of  the  servant  of  God. 
"  Blessed  is  the  man  who  trusteth  in  the  Lord,  and  whose  hope 
the  Lord  is.  For  he  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by  the  waters, 
and  that  spreadeth  out  its  roots  by  the  river,  and  shall  not  see 
when  heat  cometh,  but  her  leaf  shall  be  green ;  and  shall  not  be 
careful  in  the  year  of  drought,  neither  shall  cease  from  yielding 
fruit."  The  grace  of  God  in  the  heart  usually  creates  mental 
hunger  and  intellectual  thirst  It  stimulates  the  whole  man  to 
newness  of  life.  A  youth  converted  at  sixteen,  an  apprentice 
to  a  shoemaker,  very  poor  and  ignorant,  felt  the  stimulus  of  re- 
generation in  a  desire  to  know  more.  He  was  not  content  with 
the  ignorance  he  had  groped  in  so  long,  and  began  a  course  of 
private  study  in  connection  with  his  work.  Among  other  means 
of  self-culture  he  used  a  spelling  book  and  dictionary  in  the 
following  manner, — When  men  came  into  the  shop  and  uttered 
words  he  did  not  know  the  meaning  of,  he  noted  them  in  his 
memory,  and  after  they  had  gone  out  he  drew  forth  his  books 
and  studied  them  till  he  had  mastered  their  orthography  and 
significance.  He  became  a  leading  merchant  in  a  large  city 
and  the  founder  of  a  seminary  for  the  education  of  ministers. 
And  when  he  died  thousands  mourned  and  followed  him  to 
his  burial. 

Mr.  Moody,  as  we  have  seen,  early  felt  the  aspiration  for 
knowledge  that  he  might  serve  Christ  better ;  but  his  intense 
activity  led  him  out  of  the  seclusion  of  schools  and  libraries, 
and  compelled  him  to  depend  on  his  powers  of  observation  as  a 
man  among  men.  He  was  rough,  unskilful,  and  ignorant,  and 
naturally  gathered  the  same  class  about  him.     But  he   would 


MOODY  S    EARLY    LIFE.  35 

mingle  with  the  best  workers  and  draw  from  them  all  the 
material  he  could.  Spurgeon  once  said  to  a  friend  who  apolo- 
gized for  calling  and  taking  up  his  time  ;  "Never  mind,  I  shall 
suck  a  sermon  out  of  you  before  you  get  away."  This  sponge 
process  was  exceedingly  useful  to  Mr.  Moody,  and  Mr.  Spur- 
geon's  sermons  were  a  great  delight  and  arsenal  to  the  young 
preacher,  who  needed  ideas  and  illustrations.  He  appropriated 
and  adopted  from  every  side,  and  so  frequently  employed  cer- 
tain powerful  truths  and  anecdotes,  that  he  could  launch  them 
with  ease  and  effectiveness.  His  friends  often  suggested  courses 
of  study,  and  certain  books,  which  he  might  profitably  read, 
but  before  he  could  really  get  at  it,  he  was  hurried  away  by  the 
urgency  of  work  in  his  own  field,  by  Association  business,  by 
conventions,  by  evangelizing  trips  into  the  country  or  to  distant 
cities,  or  by  the  necessities  and  horrors  of  the  war.  He  could 
not  do  his  work  in  which  he  was  yoked  up,  and  be  a  student  of 
many  books.  His  position  and  wide-spread  service  gave  him 
the  acquaintance  of  men  highly  educated,  and  this  he  made  the 
utmost  possible  use  of  to  store  and  cultivate  his  mind. 

But  as  his  outside  cares  increased  it  became  needful  to  study 
the  Bible  alone.  This  he  could  carry  with  him  everywhere  and 
read  at  any  time,  and  it  was  really  the  source  of  his  doctrine. 
He  h?wever  was  taught  to  value  the  Book  by  a  young  English- 
man, Harry  Moorhouse,  of  Manchester,  who  had  been  a  prize- 
fighter till  God  conquered  his  rebellious  heart  by  love.  He 
came  to  Chicago,  preached  for  Moody,  of  whom  he  had  heard 
in  England,  and  led  the  American  evangelist  to  adopt  his 
methods  of  Bible  study,  to  carry  on  Bible  readings,  and  espe- 
cially to  dwell  greatly  on  the  love  of  Christ. 

The  Great  Fire  that  made  two  hundred  thousand  people 
homeless  was  itself  a  school  for  Mr.  Moody,  because  he  reared 
a  humble  shed  or  tabernacle  on  the  ruins  of  his  mission,  and 
there  gathered  the  scattered  flock,  fed  and  clothed  and  com- 
forted them  and  all  who  came,  and  held  constant  religious 
services  in  connection  with  his  benevolent  work.  He  and  Mr. 
Sankey  were  there  trained  and  educated  for  their  future  suc- 
cess.    He  had  previously  discovered  the  sweet  singer's  power 


36  Moody's  early  life. 

and  drawn  him  into  their  holy  partnership  which  has  proved 
under  God  so  great  a  blessing  to  the  world.  It  was  heaven 
and  hell  side  by  side  in  that  tabernacle,  among  the  ruins.  The 
cries  and  sighs  of  the  hungry  and  wretched  were  only  curtained 
off  from  the  prayers  and  songs  of  those  godly  men,  who  made 
•  many  souls  taste  of  Jesus'  love  and  clothed  them  with  sacred 
■  garments.  His  school  and  church  needed  permanent  premises, 
and  these  were  provided  for  in  part  when  Mr.  Moody  resolved 
on  his  third  visit  to  England.  He  had  gone  the  last  time  to 
learn  more  of  the  Bible  from  men  who  had  made  its  study  the 
one  business  of  their  lives.  Henry  Varley,  the  butcher  preach- 
er, a  power  in  London,  and  Harry  Moorhouse,  were  chosen 
friends,  and  they  welcomed  him  to  their  own  country  with 
hearty  enthusiasm.     Mr.  Varley  relates  that : 

"  On  visiting  at  a  friend's  house  with  Mr.  Moody  in  England 
some  years  ago,  I  said  to  him,  '  It  remains  for  the  world  to 
see  what  the  Lord  can  do  with  a  man  wholly  consecrated  to 
Christ.  Mr.  Moody  soon  returned  to  America,  but  those  words 
clung  to  him  with  such  power  that  he  was  induced  to  return  to 
England,  and  commenced  that  wonderful  series  of  labors  in 
Scotland  and  England  in  which  he  is  still  engaged.  Mr. 
Moody  said  to  me,  on  returning  to  England,  '  Those  were  the 
words  of  the  Lord,  through  your  lips,  to  my  soul.'  " 

Mr.  Moody  also  passed  through  some  marvellous  religious 
experiences  that  roused  him  to  attempt  great  things  for  God, 
so  that  when  asked  why  he  was  going  to  England  a  third  time, 
he  answered  "  to  win  ten  thousand  souls  for  Christ." 

Thus  his  whole  nature  was  constantly  expanding  under  a 
variety  of  influences,  and  the  incessant  study  of  One  Book  en- 
larged his  views  and  fortified  his  will.  He  was  eager  to  do  tlie 
Lord's  will  and  to  be  greatly  useful  at  any  cost  of  personal 
effort  and  sacrifice.  Thus  he  grew  under  all  circumstances, 
extracted  sources  of  power  from  all  experiences  and  associa- 
tions, till  the  boy  that  could  only  bring  in  mission  scholars 
came  to  be  in  demand  in  the  best  circles  in  America,  and  was 
able  to  gain  unequaled  ascendency  among  the  best  people  in 
Europe.     This   personal   growth  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 


MOODY  S    EARLY    LIFE.  37 

and  charming  of  all  phenomena,  and  thus  invests  life  with  per- 
petual fascination. 

His  whole  manhood  has  risen  up  into  symmetrical  propor- 
tions, and  grace  has  permeated  the  character  with  sweetness 
and  light.  His  marvellous  success  hereafter  to  be  related  does 
not  seem  to  have  puffed  him  up  with  vanity  and  pride.  He 
has  acquired  a  habit  of  trusting  God,  but  he  does  not  fail  in 
any  case  to  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord  just  as  carefully  as  if 
all  depended  on  himself  and  his  co-laborer.  The  grand  organ- 
izing faculty  he  possesses  has  been  developed  into  a  tremen- 
dous force,  and  by  means  of  this  he  unites  the  sects  and  combines 
the  energies  of  all  the  live  christians  he  can  enlist  in  every 
church.  Men  bow  humbly  and  cheerfully  to  his  leadership, 
and  throw  the  whole  weight  of  their  influence  and  personal 
strength  into  his  movement. 

This  was  not  like  Jonah  in  Nineveh,  who  stood  alone  for  God 
with  a  terrible  message  that  set  the  king  and  all  his  subjects 
trembling  before  him.  Paul  had  no  such  resource  at  first, 
because  he  had  to  build  his  own  foundation  and  make  a  foot- 
hold for  himself.  Those  were  days  of  miracle.  But  now  the 
freshness  is  gone,  and  all  the  organized  energies  of  the  churches 
can  scarcely  rouse  slumbering  sinners  or  dead  professors. 
Hence  the  wisdom  of  Mr.  Moody.  It  is  not  necessary  for  him 
to  bear  the  exhausting  labors  of  preparing  new  discourses,  since 
he  has  new  hearers  all  the  time,  to  whom  his  old  utterances  are 
fresh  as  a  new-blown  rose.  There  is  also  something  in  what 
has  been  written  about  his  ability  to  work  : 

It  has  pleased  God  to  give  Mr.  Moody  a  grand  body  ;  and 
he  has  been  wise  enough  to  take  good  care  of  it.  He  is  a 
standing  protest  against  those  ministers  who  knock  their  nerves 
into  a  cocked  hat  by  smoking  and  chewing,  who  sit  up  half  the 
night,  «nd  all  of  Saturday  night,  who  are  Mondayish  and  Tues- 
day ish,  who  have  neither  stomach  nor  liver,  and  who  are  old  at 
fifty  No  less  he  is  a  protest  against  those  men  who,  without  a 
vice  or  a  fiult,  yet  from  mistaken  notions  of  duty,  allow  the 
body  to  be  run  down  by  want  of  exercise,  want  of  recreation, 
want  of  sleep,  want  of  suitable,  nourishing,  digestible,  palatable 


38  Moody's  early  life. 

food.  A  large  heart,  a  generous  soul,  a  gigantic  mind  in  a  frai! 
body,  is  like  a  powerful  engine  in  a  crank,  shattered  hull.  The 
body  is  not  to  be  despised  or  ignored.  Mr.  Moody  owes  every- 
thing to  the  grace  of  God  ;  but  that  grace  was  shown  in  part  in 
giving  him  a  broad  chest,  sound  lungs,  a  good  digestion. 

Nor  must  we  forget  that  he  speaks  in  a  ?iatural  tone.  He 
has  no  holy  tone.  True,  he  has  to  speak  loud,  and  strain  his 
voice,  in  order  to  reach  so  large  a  number.  But  apart  from  this, 
his  voice  is  natural.  He  talks  about  religion  as  he  would  talk 
about  temperance,  or  politics,  or  railroads.  And  as  the  result 
he  speaks  twice  a  day  on  five  days  in  a  week,  and  three  times 
on  the  Sabbath,  with  less  fatigue  than  many  of  our  ministers 
experience  from  a  couple  of  sermons  and  a  prayer-meeting 
weekly.  If  the  voice  is  kept  all  the  time  on  one  key,  and  that 
an  unnatural  one,  it  must  give  way  like  a  violin  played  cease- 
lessly on  one  string. 

Nor  must  we  lose  sight  of  an  humble,  often  ignored,  quality, 
that  uncommon  thing,  common  sense.  His  common  sense 
amounts  to  genius.  It  is  shown  in  a  thousand  ways  ;  it  appears 
in  the  uniform  brevity  of  his  sermons  and  prayers ;  in  the  free- 
dom from  all  bombast  or  pretence  ;  in  the  avoidance  of  need- 
less offence  to  those  from  whom  he  most  differs  in  doctrine ;  he 
says  nothing  that  would  close  the  heart  of  Catholic  or  Unitarian 
against  him.  It  appears  no  less  in  the  absence  of  all  peculiar- 
ities of  doctrine.  He  preaches  the  gospel,  clearly,  broadly, 
pointedly  ;  but  there  is  no  Moody  type  of  doctrine,  except  in  so 
far  as  the  attentive  and  loving  study  of  the  Bible  is  a  Moodyism. 

We  earnestly  pray,  and  we  are  sure  that  thousands  will  unite 
in  the  prayer,  that  the  good  Master  will  continue  richly  to  en- 
dow Brother  Moody  with  bodily  health,  with  common  sense, 
and  with  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  following  brief  mention  of  some  of  his  points  4s  also 
practical :  It  is  evident  that  Brother  Moody  is  a  shrewd  and 
practical  man  ;  that  he  is  an  extraordinary  worker ;  that  he  is 
a  skilful  organizer;  that  he  knows  how  to  control  and  affect 
multitudes  of  people  ;  that  he  is  very  much  in  earnest ;  that  he 
confines  himself  to  a  few  of  the  leading  ideas  of  Christianity ; 


MOODY  S    EARLY    LIFE. 


59 


that  he  understands  the  art  of  putting  his  religion  into  plain 
language  for  the  common  mind  ;  and  that  he  fully  appreciates 
the  value  of  his  co-laborer  Brother  Sankey.  Again  :  Nothing 
is  more  remarkable  in  Moody's  discourses  than  the  simple  di- 
rectness with  which  'he  brings  his  hearers  face  to  face  with  the 
central  truths.  Being  without  any  noticeable  peculiarities  of 
manner,  making  nothing  of  the  way  in  which  to  say  what  needs 
to  be  said,  he  gives  no  one  chance  to  regard  anything  but 
the  truth  spoken.  As  an  object  of  the  hearer's  attention  his  per- 
sonality is  out  of  view.  He  might  be  "  a  wandering  voice  "  for 
any  appearance  of  himself  between  his  audience  and  the  truth 
he  wishes  them  to  look  at.  But  as  a  force  to  be  felt,  the 
speaker's  personality  is  not  absent.  The  words  that  are  heard 
are  the  utterance  of  an  earnest,  praying,  believing  soul,  intent 
on  one  object.  In  proportion  as  Christians  generally  can  gain 
for  themselves  that  undistracted  view  of  the  gospel,  and  with  a 
self-emptying  earnestness  pray  for  and  labor  with  their  fellow- 
men,  they  will  find  themselves  blessed,  and  a  blessing  to  others. 
Rev.  John  A.  Broadus,  D.  D.,  one  of  the  first  of  living  theolo- 
gians and  preachers,  thus  describes  him  : 

I.  Mr.  Moody  sweeps  away  the  conventionalities  which  have 
cobwebbed  themselves  around  our  public  worship  and  our 
preaching.  Some  of  us  have  long  been  striving  to  do  this,  to 
bring  eternal  things  and  gospel  truths  right  home  to  people  as 
naked  reality,  but  we  could  not  go  beyond  a  certain  point  with- 
out shocking  the  sense  of  propriety  in  many  hearers.  But  here 
comes  one  from  whom  the  fastidious  cannot  demand  "  ministe- 
rial dignity,"  for  he  is  a  layman,  a  business  man,  and  he  can 
tell  about  religion  right  straight  along,  can  modernize  the  Scrip- 
ture narratives,  and  speak  of  things  unseen  as  real  and  near, 
and  mightily  wake  up  the  people  from  that  slumberous  decorum 
with  which  they  usually  attend  upon  preaching.  No  daintiness 
here.  A  spade  is  a  spade.  You  are  going  to  hell,  but  Jesus 
Christ  can  save  you  right  now.  Cut  loose  from  your  sins,  and 
come  to  him  tlrs  very  night.  For  this  directness,  and  homeli- 
ness, and  realness,  we  are  heartily  thankful.  What  though  Mr. 
Moody  sometimes  mispronounces  a  word,  or  gets   a  singulai 


40  Moody's  early  life. 

verb  for  a  plural  nominative,  if  he  makes  men  feel  that  religion 
is  business  ? 

2.  He  preaches  the  doctrines  of  grace,  the  old-fashioned 
gospel,  square,  without  rounding  the  corners.  In  salvation  by 
grace  there  is  real  power,  and  nowhere  else.  And  we  rejoice 
to  see  a  man  who  can  gather  vast  thousands  to  hear  this  old, 
old  story.  A  few  years  ago  we  remember  to  have  come  home 
from  New  York  and  Brooklyn  with  the  painful  impression  that 
some  young  ministers  of  various  denominations  there  were 
being  led  by  the  specious  plausibilities  and  apparent  success  of 
a  celebrated  Brooklyn  pastor,  to  think  that  the  old  gospel  is 
antiquated,  and  that  the  men  of  to-day  must  needs  preach  hu- 
manitarianism,  semi-universalism,  rose-water  doctrine  in  every 
respect.  All  the  world  knows  the  strange  and  sad  way  in 
which  the  hurtful  influence  of  that  preacher  has  been  checked ; 
for  if  he  be  deemed  a  man  innocent  of  grave  crimes,  he  can  no 
longer  be  reckoned  an  example  of  that  manhood  which  had  be- 
come the  central  idea  of  his  ministry.  But  the  Providence  that 
so  often  and  wonderfully  brings  good  out  of  evil,  has  not 
stopped  with  the  destruction  of  his  supremacy.  Here  comes  a 
man  who  gives  the  prestige  of  immense  attendance  and  great 
success  to  the  old  gospel.  This  will  affect  the  minds  of  thou- 
sands, restraining  them  from  the  notion  that  new  doctrine  is  ne- 
cessary for  our  age.  Not  generals  alone,  as  poor  Sidney  John- 
son remarked,  are  popularly  judged  by  their  success ;  but 
preachers  and  doctrines  are  so  judged  by  the  unreflecting  masse<?. 

3.  Mr.  Moody  has  great  force  of  character,  invincible  deter- 
mination, and  means  to  influence  people.  What  a  difference 
between  men  who  go  into  battle  intending  to  conquer  if  they 
can,  and  those  who  go  into  battle  intending  to  conquer  !  Now 
few  can  equal  him  in  native  endowment  as  to  will^  and  the 
power  of  impressing  himself  upon  others  ;  but  all  may  be  bene- 
fited by  observing  the  value  of  this.  At  the  same  time  h« 
simply,  humbly  leans  upon  God's  support  and  blessing.  This 
combination  of  strong  self-reliance  and  humble  reliance  on 
God,  makes  a  great  Christian  worker,  whether  in  preaching  or 
in  other  relijiious  work. 


Moody's  early  Lir-ii:. 


41 


4.  He  applies  practical  sense  and  business-like  skill  and  tact 
to  the  management  of  religious  services.  Many  good  people 
sadly  neglect  this.  They  arrange  nothing,  or  with  little  care 
and  no  tact,  as  to  drawing  people  together,  and  as  to  order, 
comfort,  and  the  opportunity  of  undisturbed  attention.  But  it 
is  pleasant  to  see  a  number  of  leading  business  men  bringing  to 
bear  their  native  and  practical  administrative  powers  upon  the 
organization  and  conduct  of  a  grand  series  of  religious  meet- 
ings. Then  the  exercises  of  the  inquiry-room  are  conducted 
with  great  system  and  good  sense.  Workers  specially  suited  to 
this  delicate  and  difficult  task  of  conversing  with  inquirers  have 
been  selected  beforehand  from  many  churches,  with  the  aid  of 
the  pastors,  and  a  certain  group  are  to  be  there  on  an  ap- 
pointed evening.  All  of  them  have  been  gathered  by  Mr. 
Moody  in  a  private  meeting,  and  received  from  him  suggestions 
marked  (as  repeated  to  us)  by  a  singular  good  sense,  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature,  and  Christian  siniplicity.  When  in- 
quirers enter  the  room,  persons  quietly  take  down  the  name 
and  address  of  each  one,  and  the  church  he  commonly  attends. 
The  next  morning  every  pastor  concerned  in  New  York  and 
Brooklyn  receives  a  notice  that  such  a  person  of  his  congrega- 
tion (address  given,  etc.)  attended  the  inquiry-meeting  the 
evening  before,  and  an  earnest  request  to  visit  that  person  im- 
mediately. Ours  is  the  day  of  organization,  of  combined  and 
systematic  exertion  ;  let  us  have  more  of  it  in  religious  work. 

The  question  is  often  asked.  What  are  the  elements  of  Mr.^ 
Moody's  power?  They  are  certainly  not  his  natural  gifts. 
They  flow  directly  from  Christ.  Filled  with  the  Spirit,  he  seems 
to  lose  sight  of  every  thing  but  the  message  of  his  Master  to 
perishing  sinners  ;  and  he  cannot  rest  until  they  are  rescued 
from  peril.  His  Heavenly  Father  is  around  him  and  within 
him,  pressing  him  every  moment  to  serve  him,  and  to  think  of 
nothing  else.  The  love  of  the  Saviour  peivades  and  quickens 
all  his  sensibilities,  and  is  the  atmosphere  through  which  he  sees 
his  fellow-men.  He  can  say  with  the  apostle  Paul,  "  I  live  ; 
yet  net  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me." 

Dr.  Van  Doren,  of  Chicago,  says,  **  An  incident,  some  twelve 


42  MOODY  S    EARLY    LIFE. 

years  ago,  occurred  at  the  city  of ,  where  the  pastors  and 

friends  of  a  revival  sought  vi'ere  assembled.  Mr.  Moody,  as  his 
manner  then  was,  laid  the  blame  of  spiritual  coldness  on 
the  church,  and  of  course  the  several  ministers  presen*  felt 
t^*  strokes. 

"One  arose  and  brought  down  the  lash  on  what  he  called 
the  Pharisaic  display,  etc.,  and  repelled  the  charge.  Poor 
Marsyas  did  not  come  out  of  the  hands  of  Apollo  more  thor- 
oughly flayed  alive  than  did  Brother  Moody  from  the  hands 
of  that  trenchant  speaker.  Instead  of  resenting  it,  he  arose, 
and  trembling  with  emotion  said,  '  I,  from  my  heart,  thank  that 
brother.  I  deserved  it  j '  and  then  asked  that  brother  who  held 
the  rod  ''  to  pray  for  him.'  Every  heart  was  melted  ;  and  when 
that  prayer  was  ended,  not  one,  we  believe,  in  that  vast  audi- 
ence but  was  willing  to  welcome  and  embrace  Brother  Moody 
from  that  moment  to  this. 

"  Secondly :  Our  Brother  Moody  is  a  man  of  inextinguisha- 
ble zeal.  In  our  city  of  400,000  people  all  the  boys  of  this 
wicked  city  know  him  and  respect  him  too.  A  short  time 
since,  while  distributing  tracts,  I  rebuked  some  boys  kindly 
for  profanity.  '  Say,  mister,  do  you  belong  to  Brother  Moody  ?' 
At  one  time  walking  in  the  crowded  South  Water  street  with  a 
friend,  he  met  a  knot  of  worldly  acquaintances.  Pausing  a 
moment — '  Friends,  we  may  never  meet  again.  Here  is  an 
alcove.  Let  us  have  a  prayer.'  Love  like  that  drew  them 
aside,  and  he  led,  all  standing.  Waving  his  hand,  and  with  an 
eye  beaming  with  tears,  he  passed  on  in  silence. 

"  Brother  Moody  is  a  firm  believer  in  God's  words.  It  is  a  mar- 
vel to  all  our  ministers,  that  while  so  many  educated  clergymen 
in  the  Evangelical  Church  treat  the  Bible  as  Homer  or  Plato, 
he  practically  writes  over  every  verse,  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord? 
Hence  he  has  avoided  all  those  crotchets  that  weaken  and  deform 
the  influence  of  many  good  preachers.  Hi3  profound,  adoring 
love  of  the  Scriptures  has  led  some  to  think  that  he  reads  noth- 
ing else.  But  like  Dr.  Johnson,  who  was  said  '  to  take  tlie 
heart  out  of  a  book,'  he  grasps  an  author's  plan  and  illustrations 
with  an  intuitive  glance. 


Moody's  early  life.  43 

"Thirdly:  He  is  a  man  of  prayer.  This,  I  hold,  includes 
faith.  We  know  that  Luther  spent  half  the  night  in  prayer, 
at  times. 

*'  When  President  Edwards  preached  that  memorable  ser- 
mon, '  Sinners  in  the  Hands  of  an  Angry  God,'  at  Enfield,  New 
England,  and  a  glorious  revival  began,  it  was  discovered  by 
chance,  that  the  elders  of  the  church  had  spent  the  whole  previ- 
ous flight  in  prayer  for  a  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  What  is  remarkable  with  Brother  Moody  is  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  seems  actually  to  precede  him  as  the  cloudy  pillar  did 
Israel  ]  and  when  he  comes,  his  announcement  of  the  terms  of 
mercy  falls  on  open  ears  and  hearts." 

"  Mr.  Moody  is  a  good  talker,  has  great  executive  ability  ; 
has  power  to  move  masses  of  people,  is  a  great  general  to  direct 
and  control  them.  He  is  an  intensely  earnest,  practical 
worker.  His  prompt,  earnest,  systematic  management  of  affairs 
impresses  you,  not  that  he  is  a  contemplative  devotee,  but  that 
he  is  a  thorough  business  man  in  matters  of  religion.  His 
forces  are  thoroughly  organized,  and  he  has  them  under  perfec< 
control.  Everything  is  done  decently  and  in  order,  and  with 
great  propriety,  and  in  good  taste  ;  but  it  is  business,  emphati- 
cally. There  is  nothing  pretentious  about  him,  nothing  arro- 
gant or  boastful.  His  plain,  earnest  Bible  talks  go  right  to  the 
hearts  and  consciences  of  all  classes.  It  is  interesting  to  notice 
how  his  associates  fall  into  line  at  his  word  of  command.  Ven- 
erable doctors  of  divinity,  sedate  professors,  pulpit  orators, — 
who  have  a  leadership  of  their  own, — all  obey  Mr.  Moody, 
when  he  tells  them  to  pray,  or  speak,  and  how  much  time  to 
occupy.  He  has  the  power  to  control  men,  effectually,  but  not 
offensively." 

These  estimates  may  be  fitly  closed  with  this  eloquent 
thought :  When  Mr.  Moody  speaks,  it  is  not  himself  alone  to 
whom  the  audience  listens,  but  the  whole  voice  and  power  of 
Chrisiianity  itself  behind  him,  ofTering  the  hope  whose  beauty 
time  never  obscures,  the  forgiveness  which  humanity  never 
ceases  to  desire,  the  ideals  of  moral  and  religious  life  whose 
force  and  excellence  the  succession  of  ages  only  strengthens. 


44 


Moody's  early  life. 


It  is  not  so  much  what  the  preacher  says,  as  what  the  audience 
feels.  The  people  lose  sight  of  the  plain  speaker,  and  even  of 
his  conceptions,  and  hear  the  echo  of  the  voice,  still  sounding 
thtough  the  centuries,  of  Him  who  spake  as  never  man  spoke. 
Under  that  voice  they  rise  to  a  new  life. 

Before  we  accompany  this  beloved  brother  to  England,  we 
must  give  some  account  of  his  famous  coadjutor,  the  sweet 
singer,  Ira  D.  Sankey. 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF   IRA  DAVID   SANKEY. 
CHAPTER  VIIL 

THE    BOY    IS    FATHER   TO   THE   MAN. 

He  was  born  and  reared  amidst  surroundings  quite  unlike  Mr. 
Moody's.  His  father  and  mother  were  natives  of  Mercer 
county,  Penn.,  now  Lawrence  county,  where  the  famous  gospel 
singer  also  first  saw  the  light,  on  the  28th  of  August,  1840. 
This  event  has  made  the  town  of  Edenburg  famous,  and  mil- 
lions will  hear  of  it,  because  of  their  interest  in  him  as  Mr. 
Moody's  associate  whose  songs  of  grace  and  salvation  are  ring- 
ing round  the  world. 

Mr.  Sankey's  father  was  a  man  of  considerable  importance  in 
the  place  where  he  lived,  having  held  offices  of  trust  and  honor 
for  many  years.  He  was  in  good  circumstances,  and  gave 
his  son  ample  opportunities  to  obtain  education.  He  knew 
little  of  the  severe  trials  of  poverty  and  was  not  compelled  to 
endure  any  of  its  hardships,  although  he  was  by  no  means 
brought  up  in  luxury. 

His  parents  were  Methodists,  who  knew  how  to  make  home 
happy  for  their  children,  and  also  to  seek  their  highest  welfare 
as  immortal  beings.  There  was  a  Scotchman  named  Fraser, 
who  used  to  lead  the  children  to  Sunday  school  while  they  were 
yet  very  young. 

In  a  speech  at  a  children's  meeting,  Mr.  Sankey  says  of  this 
good  man  Fraser,  "  The  very  first  recollections  I  have  of  any- 
thing pertaining  to  a  religious  life  was  in  connection  with  him. 
1  remember  he  took  me  by  the  hand  along  with  his  own  boys 
to  the  S.  S., — that  old  place  which  I  will  remember  to  my  dying 
day.  He  was  a  plain  man,  and  I  can  see  him  standing  up  and 
praying  for  the  children.     He  had  a  great  warm  heart,  and  the 


46  sankey's  early  life. 

children  all  loved  him.  It  was  years  after  that  when  I  was  con- 
verted, but  my  impressions  were  received  when  I  was  very 
young  from  that  man." 

This  is  a  beautiful  and  suggestive  tribute  to  the  kind  layman, 
who  followed  the  Great  Teacher  in  taking  in  his  arms  little  chil- 
dren to  bless  them.  There  is  no  age  too  early  for  the  incul- 
cation of  spiritual  truth  into  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  young. 
And  when  we  consider  an  instance  like  this,  we  readily  perceive 
how  wide  a  field  may  be  under  cultivation  by  a  humble  person, 
who  is  only  conscious  of  doing  the  duty  that  lies  next  to  him. 
Thus  from  the  beginning  he  was  in  a  religious  atmosphere, 
while  Mr.  Moody  had  no  instruction  in  religion  till  he  grew  up 
to  the  age  of  seventeen  years.  The  testimony  of  his  teacher  is 
of  great  interest,  and  he  writes  as  follows: 

I  can  truly  say  (and  in  saying  it  I  magnify  the  infinite  grace 
of  God  as  bestowed  upon  Mr.  Moody)  that  I  have  seen  fev7 
persons  whose  minds  were  spiritually  darker  than  was  his  when 
he  came  into  my  Sunday  school  class,  and  I  think  the  committee 
of  the  Mt.  Vernon  Church  seldom  met  an  applicant  for  mem- 
bership who  seemed  more  unlikely  ever  to  become  a  Christian 
of  clear  and  decided  views  of  gospel  truth,  still  less  to  fill  any 
sphere  of  public  or  extended  usefulness.  Mr.  Moody  remained 
in  my  class  nearly  two  years  till  he  bade  me  "  good-bye,"  on 
leaving  Boston  for  Chicago. 

No  weak  and  hesitating  young  Sabbath-school  teacher  can 
call  upon  a  more  unpromising  scholar  than  was  Dwight  L.  Moody, 
to  tell  of  a  Saviour's  love;  and  I  can  only  say  with  humility 
and  gratitude,  as  I  think  of  my  humble,  ignorant  Sabbath-school 
scholar  of  twenty  years  ago,  "  What  hath  God  wrought  !  " 

Conscientious  work  done  for  the  young  is  bread  cast  upon 
the  waters,  sure  to  return  in  blessing,  but  how  vast  the  blessing 
God  only  can  tell.  In  these  instances  it  is  too  large  to  be 
accurately  measured.  Eternity  alone  will  reveal  the  immensity 
of  the  sacred  influence  of  Edward  Kimball,  and  Mr.  Eraser, 
in  consequence  of  their  fidelity  to  the  youth  they  instructed. 
He  who  labors  to  mould  children  for  God,  is  engaged  with 
material  more  enduring  than  brass  or  marble. 


SANKEYS    EARLY    LIFE-.  47 

The  boy  David  had  a  happy  home,  and  this  gave  him  a 
cheerful  spirit,  wh.ch  he  now  pours  forth  in  songs  of  the  heart, 
and  hymns  of  love  and  praise.  The  bright,  genial  boy  is  devel- 
oped into  the  joyous  magnetic  man.  He  who  was  known 
among  his  playmates  and  in  his  home,  as  a  truthful,  honorable 
youth,  is  a  noble-minded  unselfish  character.  Recognized  as  a 
leader  among  his  boyish  associates,  he  goes  forward  now  in  the 
management  of  large  choirs,  and  the  control  of  thronging  assem- 
blies, like  a  general. 

His  conversion  to  Christ  did  not  occur  under  his  first 
impressions.  He  was  arrived  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  when  God 
again  had  compassion  on  the  soul  that  once  refused  His  grace, 
and  he  was  brought  under  deep  conviction,  which  he  strove  to 
throw  off  by  making  light  of  these  things.  An  earnest  man 
again  followed  up  the  youth  and  brought  him  to  decisior\. 
Thus  we  see  human  instrumentality  honored  in  the  successive 
steps  of  his  progress.  As  a  beginner  in  the  new  life,  he  found 
himself  soon  among  strangers,  for  his  father  removed  to  New- 
castle. Here  he  was  received  into  the  church,  became  a 
teacher,  and  was  ere  long  made  superintendent  in  the  Sunday- 
school. 

His  talents  for  singing  early  manifested  themselves  at  home, 
and  were  delightful  to  the  family.  When  he  could,  he  led  in 
the  exercises  of  school  and  conference  meetings,  and  acquired 
considerable  reputation  as  a  singer.  At  his  new  home,  he  took 
charge  of  the  music,  and  soon  called  around  him  a  larger  num- 
ber of  attendants  than  the  room  would  hold.  In  due  course  of 
time  his  popularity  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  school,  and 
its  power  for  good  was  such  that  a  constant  revival  was  going 
on  within  it.  He  was  also  a  beloved  class-leader,  where  he 
gave  the  exercises  a  Biblical  character,  by  encouraging  the  use 
of  the  words  of  Scripture  as  far  as  possible  by  every  speaker. 
He  added  a  profound  charm  to  the  services  by  his  singing,  so 
that  his  class  kept  constantly  full.  When  he  led  the  choir,  he 
insisted  on  Christian  character  and  deportment,  and  also  on  the 
clear  enunciation  of  the  words  sung. 

Thus  he  seemed  from  the  first  to  have  common-sense  ideas 


48  sankey's  early  life. 

respecting  the  service  of  song  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  as  well 
as  a  natural  gift  for  music.  God  nurtured  him  in  a  pious  home 
and  amid  godly  people  to  fit  him  for  that  holy  partnership 
which  has  proved  divinely  fruitful  in  winning  souls  and  uniting 
Christians  for  stupendous  assaults  on  the  kingdom  of  darkness 


bankey's  early  life.  49 


CHAPTER  IX. 


IN    TRAINING    FOR    HIS    WORK. 


While  he  was  in  the  army  this  irrepressible  love  of  singing 
endeared  him  to  his  companions.  He  soon  became  the  leader 
of  a  company  of  musical  soldiers,  and  made  excursions  into  the 
country,  as  well  as  gave  efficient  help  in  the  camp  prayer- 
meetings.  This  gift  undoubtedly  assured  him  good  society 
and  preserved  him  from  low  associations  and  contaminating 
influences. 

Returning  home  when  his  term  of  enlistment  expired,  he 
resumed  his  church  duties,  and  labored  with  abounding  success. 
He  held  for  nearly  ten  years  a  position  in  the  civil  service  of 
the  government,  and  a  gentleman  who  sat  at  the  desk  beside 
him  bears  glowing  testimony  to  his  excellent  qualities. 

"In  the  civil  service,  as  in  other  departments  of  labor,  he 
was  noted  for  conscientiousness,  and  patient,  faithful  attention 
to  duty.  In  his  rank  he  stood  first  in  the  district,  and  had  the 
entire  confidence  of  all  the  officers  and  tax-payers  with  whom 
he  had  official  dealings.  His  superiors  in  office  regarded  him 
as  one  of  the  most  prompt,  correct,  and  reliable  officers  they 
had,  and  they  were  always  ready  to  accord  to  him  the  honors 
of  a  faithful  public  servant.  In  his  long  connection  with  the 
service,  there  were  never  known  any  irregularities  in  his 
accounts  or  any  loss  to  the  government.  He  never  took 
advantage  of  his  office  to  his  own  gain  or  preferment,  but  faith- 
fully and  honestly  cared  for  the  interests  of  the  government. 
On  this  account  he  left  the  service  with  honor,  and  with  the 
regret  of  those  who  were  associated  with  him. 

"  He  also  found  favor  with  the  people  of  the  district  whose 
business  demanded  his  official  supervision.     He  proposed  at 


50 


sankey's  e.\rly  life. 


one  time  to  reenter  the  army,  and  give  his  services  to  his  coun- 
try;  but  from  every  quarter  all  the  tax-payers  who  had  official 
relations  with  him  sent  in  urgent  remonstrances  against  his 
retirement  from  the  civil  service,  and  he  was  constrained  to 
remain  in  this  department  of  the  government,  where  his  ser- 
vices were  so  greatly  in  demand." 

Soon  after  he  had  obtained  his  position  and  saw  his  way  clear, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Edwards,  on  the  9th  of  September,  1863. 
It  often  happens  that  singers  marry  those  who  cannot  sing  ] 
but  Mr.  Sankey  chose  an  attractive  member  of  his  choir  and  a 
teacher  in  his  school.  They  were  happily  mated  and  she  proved 
herself  to  be  equally  self-denying  with  her  husband.  They  have 
three  sons,  to  whom  she  proves  herself  an  affectionate  and  intel- 
ligent mother,  while  she  is  the  cheerful,  bright  companion  and 
helper  of  the  evangelist. 

In  the  course  of  years  Mr.  Sankey  trained  his  choir  and  his 
school  so  as  to  give  ihem  the  greatest  efficiency  as  witnesses  for 
Christ.  He  believes  that  song  should  minister  as  well  as  preach- 
ing. And  this  constant  use  of  melody,  superabounding  sing- 
ing, has  been  an  element  of  great  power  in  the  progress  of 
Methodism. 

When  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  established  a 
branch  in  Newcastle,  Mr.  Sankey  entered  into  its  enterprises 
most  heartily,  and  was  chosen  President.  In  June,  1870,  he 
went  to  Indianapolis  as  a  delegate  to  an  International  Conven- 
tion, and  there  he  first  met  Mr.  Moody.  It  was  in  an  early 
morning  prayer-meeting.  His  religious  fervor  had  called  him 
out  very  early  to  worship  God.  Mr.  Moody  was  leading,  and 
inwardly  chafing  over  the  slow  formalism  of  the  occasion,  and 
especially  was  annoyed  by  the  dull  singing.  When  an  oppor- 
tunity came  Mr.  Sankey  started  a  grand  hymn  and  poured  out 
voice  and  heart  and  soul  through  the  words,  and  caused  a  thrill 
of  enthusiasm  to  run  over  the  assembly.  There  was  no  more 
dulness  in  that  meeting,  and  when  it  was  over,  Mr.  Moody 
rushed  up  to  the  stranger  and  eagerly  inquired  about  him,  and 
announced  peremptorily  that  he  had  been  looking  for  him  eight 
years  to  help  him  in  his  Chicago  work,  and  he  must  give  up  all 


SANKEYS    EARLY    LIFE. 


51 


and   come    with   him.     Every   hour   they    were    together  only 
strengthened  Mr.  Moody's  purpose  to  yoke  up  with  him. 

Without  at  once  recognizing  the  Divine  call  tlirough  Mr. 
Moody,  he  kept  on  his  round  of  Convention  visitation,  and  en- 
gaged in  some  evangelistic  work  with  others,  and  everywhere 
received  marked  favor.  He  was  thus  preparing  to  loose  the 
bonds  that  tied  him  to  his  home,  and  gaining  confidence  and 
experience  to  meet  the  tremendous  responsibilities  soon  to  be 
rolled  upon  him.  His  voice  only  once  gave  out,  and  after  a 
brief  respite  it  returned  and  has  grown  stronger  with  incessant 
use. 


5a  sankey's  early  life. 


CHAPTER    X. 

TWO    ARE    BETTER    THAN    ONE. 

Reluctantly  Mr.  Sankey  dissolved  the  associations  which 
years  had  created,  and  went  forth  to  the  work  which  Mr. 
Moody  had  called  him  to  perform.  For  six  months  they  worked 
on  harmoniously  together  in  Chicago,  till  the  wave  of  fire  rolled 
over  the  city  and  laid  it  in  ruins.  The  alarm  struck  as  he  closed 
the  striking  hymn, 

"  To-day  the  Saviour  calls,  etc." 

which  he  was  singing  at  a  meeting  in  Farwell  Hall  on  that  fatal 
Sunday  evening.  The  next  day,  after  untold  sufferings  and  the 
loss  of  all  things,  he  found  himself  at  the  depot  of  an  Eastern 
R.  R.,  where  he  at  once  took  passage  for  home.  Meanwhile 
he  telegraphed  Mr.  Moody  to  send  for  him  when  he  needed 
him,  and  began  to  sing  for  churches  and  other  organizations 
wherever  he  could  do  good.  They  had  taken  sweet  counsel 
together,  and  accomplished  much  in  their  united  labors  in 
Chicago.  Now  all  seemed  lost  and  each  must  shift  for  himself. 
In  three  months  Moody  telegraphed,  "  Come  at  once,"  and 
Sankey  came,  and  entered  with  him  into  the  philanthropic,  and 
relisfious  work,  which  was  done  in  the  New  Tabernacle,  for  the 
physical  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  homelesss  thousands  who 
flocked  about  them  as  doves  to  their  windows. 

In  the  fall  of  that  year  Mr.  Sankey  brought  his  family  to 
Chicago.  While  his  fellow-laborer  went  to  England,  the  work 
devolved  on  him,  and  God  poured  out  blessings  on  the  Taber- 
nacle. After  Mr.  Moody's  return,  the  two  held  meetings  in 
other  places,  and  in  one  instance  so  greatly  were  they  favored  of 
God  in  reviving  Christians  and  saving  the  lost,  that  the  promise 
of  a  great  harvest  in  America  seemed  flattering. 


Si 

An  otfer  of  a  partnership  with  Philip  Phillips  in  giving  con- 
certs on  the  Pacific  coast,  was  baited  with  golden  inducements, 
but  he  could  not  be  persuaded  to  break  up  the  relations  now 
strongly  cemented.  He  resolved  to  accompany  the  evangelist 
in  his  proposed  voyage  to  Europe  to  win  ten  thousand  souls  for 
Christ.  He  told  an  incident  at  Dundee,  in  Scotland,  which 
shows  how  early  God  gave  him  evidence  that  he  was  called  to 
evangelize  by  song. 

"  I  want  to  speak  a  word  about  singing,  not  only  to  the  litde 
folks,  but  to  grown  people.  During  the  winter  after  the  great 
Chicago  fire,  when  the  place  was  built  up  with  little  frame 
houses  for  the  people  to  stay  in,  a  mother  sent  i"or  me  one  day 
to  come  and  see  her  litde  child,  who  was  one  of  our  Sabbath 
school  scholars.  I  remembered  her  very  well,  having  seen  hei 
in  the  meetings  very  frequently,  and  was  glad  to  go.  She  was 
lying  in  one  of  these  poor  little  huts,  everything  having  been 
burned  in  the  fire.  I  ascertained  that  she  was  past  all  hopes 
of  recovery,  and  that  they  were  waiting  for  the  little  one  to  pass 
away.  '  How  is  it  with  you  to-day .? '  I  asked.  With  a  beauti- 
ful smile  on  her  face,  she  said,  '  It  is  all  well  with  me  to-day. 
I  wish  you  would  speak  to  my  father  and  mother.'  *  But,'  said 
I, '  are  you  a  Christian  } '  '  Yes.'  *  When  did  you  become  one } ' 
*Do  you  remember  last  Thursday,  in  the  Tabernacle,  when  we 
had  that  little  singing-meeting,  and  you  sung  'Jesus  Loves  even 
Me.-"  'Yes.'  'It  was  last  Thursday  I  believed  on  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  now  I  am  going  to  be  with  him  to-day.*  That  testi- 
mony from  that  little  child,  in  that  neglected  quarter  of  Chicago, 
has  done  more  to  stimulate  me  and  bring  me  to  this  country, 
than  all  that  the  papers  or  any  persons  might  say.  I  remember 
the  joy  I  had  in  looking  upon  that  beautiful  face.  She  went  up 
to  heaven,  and  no  doubt  said  she  learned  upon  the  earth  that 
Jesus  loved  her,  from  that  little  hymn.  If  you  want  to  enjoy  a 
blessing,  go  to  the  bedsides  of  these  bedridden  and  dying  ones, 
and  sing  to  them  of  Jesus,  for  they  can  not  enjoy  these  meet- 
ings as  you  do.  You  will  get  a  great  blessing  to  your  own 
soul." 

Very  often  men  say  they  were  convicted  by  the  singing,  or  sur- 


54  sankey's  early  life. 

rendered  during  the  rendering  of  a  certain  hvmn.  His  songs 
and  solos  became  exceedingly  popular  abroad,  in  a  brief  space 
of  time,  and  soon  millions  of  copies  of  cheap  editions  were  sold. 
He  gets  no  pecuniary  returns  from  these  publications  ;  and  like 
Mr.  Moody  he  depends  on  the  unsolicited  offerings  of  friends. 
The  testimonies  to  his  usefulness  and  attractiveness  are  numer- 
ous and  discriminating.  For  while  his  singing  is  extraordinary, 
his  life,  his  spirit,  his  exhortations  and  prayers  are  sources  of 
power  which  God  honors. 

How  admirably  he  was  adapted  to  meet  the  tastes  of  the 
British,  the  following  testimonies  and  a  multitude  of  others,  may 
serve  to  show  :   • 

*'  As  a  vocalist,  Mr.  Sankey  has  not  many  equals.  Possessed 
of  a  voice  of  great  volume  and  richness,  he  expresses  with 
exquisite  skill  and  pathos  the  Gospel  message,  in  words  very 
simple,  but  '  replete  with  love  and  tenderness,'  and  always  with 
marked  effect  upon  his  audience.  It  is,  however,  altogether  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  the  blessing  which  attends  Mr.  Sankey's 
efforts  is  attributable  only  or  chiefly  to  his  fine  voice  and  artistic 
expression.  These  no  doubt,  are  very  attractive,  and  go  far  to 
move  the  affections  and  gratify  a  taste  for  music  ;  but  the  secret 
of  Mr.  Sankey's  power  lies,  not  in  his  gift  of  song,  but  in  the 
spirit  of  which  the  song  is  only  the  expression.  He,  too,  is  a 
man  in  earnest,  and  sings  in  the  full  confidence  that  God  is 
working  by  him.  Like  his  colleague,  he  likewise  has  a  message 
to  lost  men  from  God  the  Father ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  in  him 
finds  a  willing  and  effective  instrument  in  his  gift  of  song,  to 
proclaim  in  stirring  notes  the  '  mighty  love '  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus.  *  It  was  a  few  evenings  ago,*  said  a  youth  in  the  Young 
Men's  Meeting  in  Roby  Chapel.  *  when  Mr.  Sankey  was  singing 
in  the  Free  Trade  Hall  *' Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by,"  that  1 
was  made  to  feel  the  need  of  my  Saviour  ;  and  when  he  came 
to  these  words,  '*  Too  late,  too  late,"  I  said  to  myself  it  must 
not  be  too  late  for  me,  and  I  look  him  to  my  heart  there  and 
then.'  *  I  was  in  great  darkness  and  trouble  for  some  days,'  said 
a  poor  woman,  rejoicing  and  yet  weeping  ;  '  and  just  a  little 
time  ago,  when  Mr.  Sankey  was  singing  these  words'  (pointing  to 


55 

them  with  her  finger,)  ' "  And  Jesus  bids  me  come,"  my  bonds 
were  broken  in  a  moment,  and  now  I  am  safe  in  his  arms.' 

"  Who  ever  heard  of  a  fine  voice  and  sweet  music  yielding 
such  results  as  these  ?  It  is  mere  scoffing  to  say  that  Mr. 
Moody's  touching  stories  and  Mr.  Sankey's  sweet  singing  are 
the  secret  of  the  power  exercised  by  these  men.  The  work  is 
of  God,  and  they  are  his  instruments,  each  earnestly  using, 
to  the  best  of  his  ability,  the  gift  that  God  has  given  him, 
in  the  full  confidence  that  the  blessing  will  and  must  fol- 
low." 

"  Not  a  few  have  been,  not  unnaturally,  offended  by  the 
phrase,  *  Singing  the  Gospel,'  which  was  at  first  used  in  adver- 
tisements ;  and  some  have,  unfortunately,  never  taken  the 
trouble  to  inquire  what  was  meant.  But  every  one  who  has 
heard  Mr.  Sankey  sing,  is  well  aware  that  his  hymns  are  more 
than  the  mere  accessory  to  speeches,  as  they  have  too  often 
been  among  us.  He  has  taught  by  example  how  great  is  the 
power  of  song  when  a  man  with  gifts  of  music  loves  the  truth 
of  which  he  sings  ;  and  the  hymns  which  we  have  heard  him 
sing,  with  his  wonderful  distinctness  of  articulation,  unaffected 
feeling,  and  magnificent  voice  will  linger  in  our  ears  and  hearts 
till  our  dying  day.  A  few  weeks  have  made  his  favorite  hymns 
as  familiar  to  every  rank  and  to  every  age  as  those  older  hymns 
which  we  have  known  best  and  longest.  Poor  sufferers  in  the 
wards  of  the  infirmary,  lone  old  men  and  women  in  dark  rooms  of 
our  high  houses  and  back  streets,  are  now  cheered  in  a  way  no 
one  dreamed  of  before  Mr.  Sankey  came,  by  visits  from  those 
who  do  not  attempt  to  preach  to  them,  but  only  to  sing  psalms 
and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs.  The  consoling  power  of  song 
has  been  tested  and  proved  at  many  a  sick-bed,  and  many  a 
death-bed.  And  that  is  not  all  ;  for  we  have  been  led  to  see 
that  it  is  a  mistake  to  confine  song  to  utterances  of  praise  or 
prayer  in  Christian  meetings.  We  have  learned  to  value  more 
highly  its  power  in  instruction.  The  use  of  song  for  instruction 
and  for  the  application  of  the  truth  is  not  new.  It  is  as  old  as 
David  as  old  as  Moses,  but  it  has  received  a  new  impetus  among 
us  ;  and  we  who  are  called  to  '  teach  and  admonish  one  another 


56  sankey's  early  life, 

in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,*  may  well  be  glad  to 
have  been  reminded  how  this  may  be  done,' 

"The  admiration  of  Mr.  Sankey's  music  is  enthusiastic. 
When  he  sings  a  solo  a  death-like  silence  reigns,  or,  as  the 
Irish  Times  describes  it,  *  It  seems  that  he  only  is  present  in  the 
vast  building.'  When  he  ceases  there  is  a  rustling  like  the 
leaves  of  a  forest  when  stirred  by  the  wind.  We  might  apply 
to  him  the  language  of  Scripture  :  *Lo  !  thou  art  unto  them  as 
a  very  lovely  song  of  one  who  hath  a  pleasant  voice,  and  can 
play  well  on  an  instrument.'  No  one  can  estimate  the  service 
he  has  rendered  to  the  Church  of  Christ  by  the  compilation  of 
his  book  of  *  Sacred  Songs'  and  their  sweet  tunes.  They  are 
the  delight  of  all  ages.  I  have  heard  in  Scotland  that  already 
they  are  sung  in  our  most  distant  colonies.  Ere  long  I  believe 
that  they  will  be  sung  wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken 
over  the  earth.  Nor  will  they  be  confined  to  that  language,  for 
a  lady  is  at  present  engaged  in  translating  them  into  German. 
He  was  a  wise  man  who  said,  '  let  me  make  the  songs  of  a  coun- 
try and  I  care  not  who  makes  its  laws.'" 

Mrs.  Barbour  says:  "Mr.  Sankey  sings  with  the  conviction 
that  souls  are  receiving  Jesus  between  one  note  and  the  next. 
The  stillness  is  overawing;  some  of  the  lines  are  more  spoken 
than  sung.  The  hymns  are  equally  used  for  awakening,  none 
more  than  'Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by.'  When  you  hear  the 
'Ninety  and  Nine  '  sung,  you  know  of  a  truth  that  down  in  this 
corner,  up  in  that  gallery,  behind  lli.it  pillar  which  hides  the 
singer's  face  from  the  listener,  the  hand  of  Jesus  has  been  finding 
this  and  that  and  yonder  lost  one,  to  place  them  in  his  fold.  A 
certain  class  of  hearers  come  to  the  services  solely  to  hear  Mr. 
Sankey,  and  the  song  throws  the  Lord's  net  around  them. 

"We  asked  Mr.  Sankey  one  day  what  he  was  to  sing.  He 
said,  "  I'll  not  know  till  I  hear  how  Mr.  Moody  is  closing. 
Again,  we  were  driving  to  the  Canongate  Parish  Church  one 
winter  night,  and  Mr.  Sankey  said  to  the  young  minister  who 
had  come  f(»r  him,  '  I'm  thinking  of  singing  "  I  am  so  Glad  " 
to-night.'  '  Oh  I  '  said  the  young  man,  *  please  do  rather  sing 
•*  Jesus  of  Nazareth."     An  old  man  told  me  to-day  that  he  had 


sankey's  early  life.  57 

been  awakened  by  it  the  last  night  you  were  down.  He  said, 
"It  just  went  through  me  like  an  electric  shock."  ' 

"A  gentleman  in  Edinburgh  was  in  distress  of  soul,  and  hap- 
pened to  linger  in  a  pew  after  the  noon-meeting.  The  choir  had 
remained  to  practice,  and  began  '  Free  from  the  Law,  O  happy 
Condition,'  etc.  Quickly  the  Spirit  of  God  carried  that  truth 
home  to  the  awakened  conscience,  and  he  was  at  rest  in  the 
finished  work  of  Jesus. 

"  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  there  are  scarcely  two  of  those 
hymns  which  Mr.  Sankey  sings  by  the  same  author.  They  have 
been  collected  during  an  eight  years'  experience  of  the  Lord's 
use  of  them  among  believers,  inquirers^  and  the  careless.  In 
the  singing  of  them  he  seems  to  become  unconscious  of  every 
thing  but  the  desire  that  the  truth  should  sink  deep  into  the 
souls  of  the  listeners,  and  that  the  people  who  sit  in  darkness 
should  see  a  great  light  shining  for  them  from  the  cross  of  him 
who  hung  upon  the  tree. 

"  In  a  Highland  parish,  a  young  man  who  had  lived  far  from 
God,  and  seemed  to  his  minister  inaccessible  to  the  truth,  was 
found  one  day  last  summer  deeply  awakened.  When  asked  to 
what  this  was  owing,  he  said  it  was  in  consequence  of  hearing 
his  little  sister  sing, 

'  When  he  cometh,  when  he  cometh, 
To  make  up  his  jewels.' 

"  Perhaps  not  a  week  has  passed  during  the  last  year  in  which 
we  have  not  had  evidence  that  the  Lord  had  directly  used  a 
line  of  one  of  these  hymns,  in  the  salvation  of  some  soul.  A 
young  man  who  had  been  deeply  impressed,  and  was  yet  unwill- 
ing to  slay  to  the  inquirers'  meeting,  and  about  to  leave  a  church, 
was  arrested  at  the  door  by  hearing  the  choir  sing,  '  Yet  there 
is  Room.'  He  felt  there  was  room  for  him,  went  back  to  the 
pew,  and  after  having  the  truth  clearly  laid  before  him,  received 
Christ. 

''The  wave  of  sacred  song  had  spread  over  Ireland,  and  is 
now  sweeping  through  England.  But,  indeed,  it  is  not  being 
confined  to  the  United  Kingdom  alone,  for  away  off  on  the 
3* 


58  sankky's  early  life. 

shores  of  India,  and  in  many  other  lands,  these  sweet  songs  of 
a  Saviour's  love  are  being  sung.  Mr.  Sankey's  collection  of 
sacred  songs  has  been  translated  into  five  or  six  languages, 
and  are  winging  their  way  into  tens  of  thousands  of  hearts  and 
homes,  and  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  seems  to  accompany  them 
wherever  sung. 

'  We  may  forget  the  singer, 
But  will  ne'er  forget  the  song.' " 

**  ^^rs.  Sankey  is  an  earnest  Christian  woman,  and  fully 
sympathizes  with  her  husband  in  his  blessed  work.  Both  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Church;  while  his  sweet  songs  float 
over  and  inspire  multitudes  in  all  Christian  denominations." 
The  Harp  of  David  was  the  prototype  of  the  Harmonium  of 
Sankey. 

The  following  pages  will  contain  many  glowing  proofs  of  the 
gracious  influence  which  has  accompanied  this  gospel  singer  in 
his  own  land. 


PART    II. 


THE    WONDERFUL    CAREER 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY, 


GREA  T  BRITAIN. 


6o  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 


CHAPTER      XI. 

BEGINNINGS   ABROAD. 

Ik  the  spring  of  1873,  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  left 
Chicago  for  England.  They  had  been  invited  by  three  gentle- 
men to  hold  meetings  in  that  country.  No  one  else  had  joined 
in  the  invitation,  and  no  one  else  was  interested  in  their  visit. 
They  had  no  appointments.  No  arrangements  were  made  for 
them.  No  compensation  was  promised.  No  one  knew  of 
their  intention  to  come.  They  were  persuaded  that  God  sent 
them,  and  therefore  they  went.  Mr.  Moody  carried  his  Bible, 
Mr.  Sankey  his  organ  and  singing  book.  In  June  they  landed 
in  Liverpool,  sought  a  place  to  preach  and  sing  the  Gospel,  and 
held  a  few  services.  No  attention  was  attracted  and  nothing 
accomplished,  and  after  a  few  days  they  proceeded  toward 
York  to  find  the  friends  who  had  invited  them  over.  Two  of  the 
men  were  dead.  But  with  a  confidence  that  resembled  audacity, 
ihey  found  a  place  to  preach  and  went  to  work.  One  preached 
the  Gospel ;  the  other  sang  it.  They  held  their  meetings,  con- 
versed with  sinners,  prayed  to  God  ;  and  men  and  women  began 
to  ask  what  ihey  must  do  to  be  saved.  They  labored  in  York 
a  month,  and  it  is  believed  that  two  hundred  persons  were  con- 
verted to  Christ. 

On  Sunday,  July  27th,  they  went  to  Sunderland,  a  consider- 
able town  near  York,  on  the  invitation  of  a  Baptist  minister, 
Rev.  Arthur  Recs.  The  other  ministers  generally  hesitated,  or 
opposed  the  work.  "  Wc  can  never  go  on  in  this  way "  was 
Moody's  characteristic  remark  ;  ''  it  is  easier  fighting  the  devil 
than  fighting  the  ministers."  At  length  a  delegation  of  young 
men  from  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  of  Sunderland,  waited  upon  the 
evangelists  at  their  lodgings,  and  one  of  them  tells  the  story  of 
tljcir  reception  in  the  following  fashion  : 

"  They  had   already  been  a  week  in   Sunderland  ;  but,  as 


BEGINNINGS    ABROAD.  6l 

yet,  I  had  not  seen  either  of  them.  Ah  !  tliought  I,  what  a  lift 
heavenward  shall  I  get  from  these  holy  men !  We  were  shown 
into  a  back  parlor  by  the  servant,  and  very  soon  the  two 
evangelists  sauntered  in  in  a  style  neither  ecclesiastical  nor 
dignified.  Turning  to  me,  Mr.  Moody  asked,  in  true  Yankee 
fashion,  What  was  our  business  with  him  ?  He  did  not  show 
us  a  seat ;  he  did  not  offer  us  his  hand :  altogether  an 
auctioneer-like  reception. 

"  '  We  represent  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
Mr.  Moody,  and  have  come  to  ask  if  you  will  give  us  an 
address  in  Victoria  Hall,  on  Sunday  afternoon.' 

"'Preach  for  you?  Oh  yes!  I'll  preach  for  you,'  replied 
Mr.  Moody. 

***We  don't  want  you  to  preach  for  us  ;  we  want  you  to 
preach  for  Christ.' 

" '  Oh  yes — yes  !     All  right !     I'll  preach  for  you.' 

"  '  Our  committee,'  continued  I,  'hope  you  will  not  misunder- 
stand  the  reason  of  their  not  joining  you  earlier  in  your  work. 
It  is  not  for  want  of  sympathy  ;  but  because  you  came  to  us  in 
a  sectarian  connection,  and  have  allied  yourself  with  Mr.  Rees  ; 
and  if  we  were  to  join  you,  on  sectarian  grounds,  we  should 
injure  our  Institution,  which  has  enemies  enough  already.' 

"After  explaining  his  position,  and  that  his  connection  with 
Brother  Rees  and  his  congregation  had  no  sectarian  signifi- 
cance, he  said, — 

"*  I  go  where  I  can  do  most  good  :  that  is  what  I  am  after. 
And  when  we  left,  he  followed  us  out  to  the  gate,  saying,  '  It  is 
souls  I  want:  it  is  souls  I  want.' 

"  Alas  !  I  had  mistaken  the  man  ;  and  whether  he  spoke  of 
souls  or  anything  else,  it  is  all  the  same  to  me  now. 

" '  Well,  Frank,  what  did  you  think  of  it  ? '  asked  my  com- 
panion, as  we  walked  off  from  this  strange  interview. 

"  '  Think  !     It  is  money  :  that  is  what  it  is,  James.' 

'  However,  I  went  to  the  meeting,  being  careful  to  keep 
out  of  sight  ;  but  when  Sankey  began  singing,  I  felt  it  draw 
me,  and  very  little  more  of  it  would  have  pulled  me  on  to  the 
platform. " 


62  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

"  That  was  not  a  ^ood  afternoon  for  Mr.  Moody.  His  eye 
blazed  with  mournful  earnestness,  as  it  ranged  that  crowd. 
looking  for  an.xious  faces ;  and  its  strange  light  lives  in  my 
memory  yet,  while  all  my  prejudices  and  misconceptions  are 
dead  and  rotten. 

•'  On  the  following  Sunday  night,  when  I  got  to  the  rooms 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  I  found  the  meeting 
on  fire.  The  young  men  were  speaking  with  tongues,  prophesy- 
ing. "What  on  earth  did  it  all  mean  .?  Only  that  Moody  had 
been  addressing  them  that  afternoon.  'What  manner  of  man 
is  this  } '  thought  I  ;  but  still  I  did  not  give  him  my  hand.  .  . 
Many  of  the  clergy  were  so  opposed  to  the  movement  that  they 
turned  their  backs  upon  our  poor  innocent  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  for  the  part  we  took  in  the  work  ;  but 
afterward  when  the  floodgates  of  Divine  grace  were  opened, 
Sunderland  was  taken  by  storm. 

"I  cannot  describe  Moody's  great  meeting  ;  I  can  only  say 
that  the  people  of  Sunderland  warmly  supported  the  movement, 
in  spite  of  their  spiritual  advisers  ;  that  there  was  a  tremendous 
work  of  grace,  when  measured  by  its  immediate  effects,  but  far 
greater  in  its  consequences,  after  the  evangelists  were  away. 
All  honor  to  these  two  brother-soldiers  of  the  cross,  who,  like 
Jonathan  and  his  armor-bearer,  stormed  this  fortress  of  British 
unbelief  alone  !  " 

The  second  Sunday  evening,  three  thousand  people  crowded 
Victoria  Hall,  and  after  the  sermon,  many  followed  them  to  a 
neighboring  church,  for  an  inquiry  meeting.  Among  the 
inquirers,  a  young  man  came  up  the  aisle,  and  threw  his  arms 
about  his  father's  neck  and  kissed  him,  asking  his  forgiveness 
with  many  tears  ;  then  kissing  his  mother  and  asking  her  for- 
giveness, afterward  tenderly  embracing  and  kissing  his  younger 
brother. 

The  little  fire  kindled  in  York  flamed  so  high  in  Sunderland, 
that  Newcastle  on  the  Tyne  saw  it.  The  ministers  came  over, 
and  their  hearts  were  warmed.  The  evangelists  were  invited 
to  go  bacK  with  them,  and  went.  Their  fiime  had  preceded 
them,  and  ministers  ai'd  people  were  ready  to  welcome  them, 


BEGINNING9    ABROAD.  63 

The  meetings  were  so  multiplied  that  vis  many  as  thirty-four 
were  held  in  a  single  week.  They  continued  through  two  months, 
the  attendance  and  interest  increasing  to  the  close.  Crowds 
came  from  all  the  surrounding  towns,  caught  the  fire,  and 
kindled  it  through  all  the  neighboring  counties. 

Mr.  Moody  said  : 

''  We  have  not  done  much  in  York  and  Sunderland,  because 
the  ministers  opposed  us  ;  but  we  are  going  to  stay  in  New- 
castle till  we  make  an  impression,  and  live  down  the  prejudices 
of  good  people  who  do  not  understand  us. 

**I  am  always  glad  to  see  a  minister  come  to  our  meetings, 
for  he  always  brings  a  large  r^nforcement  with  him." 

Among  the  ministers  prominent  in  connection  with  these 
services  have  been  several  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  pastors, 
most  of  them  of  the  Low  Church  party.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Stewart, 
of  St.  Clement's  Church,  a  leading  High  Churchman  has,  how- 
ever, given  utterance  to  the  following  sentiments  from  his  pul- 
pit, which  will  be  read  with  a  good  deal  of  interest : 

"It  is  probably  well  that  I  should  say  something  respecting 
the  work  of  certain  evangelists  who  commenced  their  labors  in 
this  city  to-day.  I  have  heard  that  they  are  regarded  with 
unkindly  feelings  by  several  ministers  ;  how  far  this  extends  I 
know  not,  but  it  certainly  does  not  reach  the  clergy  of  this  parish. 
The  right  and  duty  of  every  layman  is  by  precept  and  example 
to  bring  erring  souls  to  Christ,  and  in  the  exercise  of  this  plain 
right  I  bid  these  evangelists  Godspeed  in  their  good  work  of 
awakening  souls  who,  when  awakened,  will  seek  the  church  and 
its  sacraments.  These  men  do  not  come  to  make  proselytes, 
but  Christians,  and  should  be  aided  rather  than  hindered  in  the 
effort  to  bring  lost  souls  to  their  Saviour." 

From  the  interesting  narratives  of  the  glorious  dealings  of 
God  with  his  people  we  compile  such  as  will  most  graphically 
portray  them  to  our  readers.  After  three  weeks  at  Newcastle, 
great  blessings  were  poured  out  on  their  work,  which  began  at 
the  Rye  Hill  Baptist  chapel  and  thence  overflowed  on  every  side. 

Every  morning  at  twelve  o'clock,  in  the  Music-hall,  there 
was  a  meeting  for  prayer,  praise,  and  exhortation,  at  which  werr 


04  MOODY    AND   SAN  KEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

gathered  from  two  to  three  hundred  people,  all  earnestly  desir- 
ing the  revival  of  God's  work  in  that  irreligious  town,  and  daily 
bearing  before  God  numerous  written  requests  from  believers, 
for  their  unconverted  relatives  and  friends.  These  prayer -meet- 
ings have  been  felt  by  all  to  be  true  means  of  grace  to  the 
hearts  of  God's  children,  and  numerous  and  striking  have  been 
the  answers  to  prayer  for  the  unconverted.  Every  evening,  in  the 
Music  hall  and  Rye-hill  Chapel,  Gospel  services  were  held,  Mr. 
Moody  and  Mr.  Moorhouse  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  Mr. 
Sankey  singing  his  sweet  spiritual  songs.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  this  glorious  work,  Rye-hill  Chapel,  which  will  accom- 
modate from  sixteen  to  seventeen  hundred  people,  was  usedj 
but,  as  many  had  to  go  away,  not  being  able  to  get  in,  Jt  was 
thought  advisable  to  have  two  services  on  the  same  evening; 
hence  the  Music  hall,  where  Mr.  Hoyle  was  carrying  on  a  noble 
work  for  Jesus,  was  opened  each  night,  and  hundreds  attended 
there  to  hear  the  preaching  of  the  word  ;  and  many  were  born 
again  by  the  regenerating  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

In  connection  with  these  services,  Mr.  Moody,  with  that 
indefatigable  zeal  and  fervor  which  so  eminently  characterize 
him,  announced  ihat  he  intended  to  have  an  'all-day'  meeting 
on  Wednesday,  September  loth,  and  earnestly  invited  all  who 
could  possibly  come  to  attend.  An  all  day  meeting  was  some- 
thing so  novel  in  the  history  of  religious  people  in  Newcastle, 
that  much  wonder  was  excited  as  to  what  would  be  the  result 
of  so  bold  an  undertaking.  Many  anticipated  a  failure,  others 
thought  that  it  mii^/if  be  a  success  ;  but  those  who  felt  the  reviv- 
ing power  of  God's  love,  and  had  made  this  meeting  a  mattei 
of  earnest  prayer,  knew  that  it  would  not,  could  not  fail.  Ac- 
cording to  their  faith  it  was  done  unto  them.  WeJnesdav 
morning  broke  clear  and  beautiful.  It  \vas  a  day  when  all 
nature  seemed  to  be  rejoicing  in  the  glad  sunshine  of  the  great 
Father's  beneficence. 

At  fen  o  clock,  the  hour  for  the  service  to  commence,  the 
wide  area  of  Rye-hill  Chapel  was  about  half  filled,  and  the  peo 
pie  coming  in  quickly.  By  eleven  o'clock  the  friends  from 
Sunderland,  Shields,  Jarrow,  and  neighboring  towns,  had  come 


BEGINNINGS   ABROAD. 


6s 


in  by  train,  and  had  occupied  nearly  the  whole  of  the  area.  At 
twelve  o'clock  the  message  came,  "  No  more  room  in  the  area ; 
we  must  throw  the  galleries  open."  By  two  o'clock  the  galleries 
were  well  filled,  and  before  the  closing  hour  came  round  the 
spacious  and  beautiful  chapel  was  filled  with  those  who  had  left 
business,  home  cares  and  work,  pleasure  and  idleness,  to  come 
and  worship  God  and  hear  his  word.  Never  was  the  faith  of 
God's  people  more  abundantly  satisfied.  They  asked  and  if 
was  given,  they  sought  and  found,  they  knocked  and  the  doo» 
was  opened  unto  them. 

According  to  the  programme  which  Mr.  Moody  had  dis- 
tributed largely  over  the  town,  the  first  hour  of  the  services  was 
to  be  devoted  entirely  to  prayer  and  Bible-reading. 

After  the  singing  of  that  beautiful  hymn,  "  Sweet  Hour  of 
Prayer,"  Mr.  Moody  led  the  devotions  of  God's  people  at  the 
throne  of  grace,  and  then  read  and  commented  on  Nehemiah 
viii.,  I-I2,  where  it  is  stated  that  "  all  the  people  gathered  them- 
selves together  as  one  man.  .  .  .  and  they  spake  unto  Ezra  the 
scribe  to  bring  the  book  of  the  law  of  Moses,  which  the  Lord 
had  commanded  Israel."  Mr.  Moody  clearly  brought  out  the 
appropriateness  of  this  Scripture  to  the  services  of  that  day. 
and  concluded  by  unfolding  and  pressing  home  to  the  hear'.s 
of  the  people  the  joyous  truth  contained  in  the  tenth  verse, 
where  Ezra  said  to  the  people,  "Go  your  way,  eat  the 
fat,  and  drink  the  sweet,  and  send  portions  unto  them  for  whom 
nothing  is  prepared,  for  this  day  is  holy  unto  our  Lord  :  neither 
be  ye  sorry  ;  for  the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength." 

Mr.  Hoyle,  Mr.  Swinburne,  and  several  of  the  brethren 
spoke  from  the  Word  of  God  on  the  subject  of  Christian  joy, 
and  the  hour  of  prayer  and  Bible-reading  was  gone  before  we 
had  well  begun  to  open  the  Scriptures.  This  hour  was  felt  to 
be  exceedingly  precious,  and  was  received  by  all  as  an  earnest 
of  what  was  to  come. 

The  second  hour  was  devoted  to  the  promises,  Mr.  Moody 
being  the  leader.  He  said  he  wished  the  friends  that  day  to 
try  to  see  how  rich  they  were.  He  thought  that  very  few  of  us 
bad  ever  fully  considered  how  much  our  loving   Father  really 


^  MOODY    yVND    SAXKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

had  promised  to  us.  These  promises,  like  precious  gems,  were 
to  be  found  in  every  book  of  the  Bible,  and  that  day  we  might 
get  into  the  company  of  all  God's  great  men  who  had  passed 
away,  and  hear  what  things  they  had  to  tell  us  about  our 
Father's  love.  We  could  summon  the  patriarchs — the  prophets 
—the  kings  ;  we  could  listen  to  the  historians— the  biogra- 
phers— the  poets  of  the  Bible  ;  and  they  would  all  give  to  us  some 
of  the  precious  promises  spoken  by  God,  through  their  lives  to 
the  ears  of  the  whole  world.  The  meeting  was  to  be  quite  open 
and  free ;  not  for  speeches  about  promises,  but  for  the  reading 
forth  of  these  good  words  of  God  to  our  souls.  The  audience 
at  once  seemed  to  catch  up  the  spirit  and  intention  of  these 
words,  and  from  every  part  of  the  chapel — from  young  and  old, 
from  male  and  female — came  passage  after  passage  of  the  Holy 
Word,  declarative  of  what  in  the  boundless  fullness  of  his  love 
the  Father  has  promised  to  all. 

The  interest  of  the  meeting  had  been  steadily  rising,  as  one 
Scriptural  topic  after  another  had  been  most  delightfully  un- 
folded, when  the  last  hour  was  reached,  and  appropriately  given 
to  the  subject  of  Heaven. 

The  address  was  given  by  Mr.  Moody.  Having  selected 
numerous  passages  of  Scripture  to  prove  his  points,  Mr.  Moody 
asked  some  of  the  brethren  present  to  read  them  out  as  he 
called  for  them.  This  was  a  delightful  picture — a  crowded 
chapel — hundreds  of  open  Bibles  ready  to  be  marked  when  the 
pass.ige  should  be  announced,  and  the  subject  uppermost  in 
each  mind  heaven.  The  first  thought  which  the  speaker  called 
attention  to  was  the  locality  of  heaven.  He  said  that  his  mind 
had  once  been  much  distressed  by  an  infidel  asking  him  "why 
he  always  looked  upward  when  he  was  addressing  God  ?  God 
was  everywhere,  and  his  home  was  just  as  likely  to  be  below  as 
above."  This  set  Mr.  Moody  back  to  his  Bible  to  see  what  it 
had  to  say  about  the  matter.  He  was  soon  quite  satisfied  that 
God's  home  was  above.  The  Word  said  that  God,  when  com- 
muning with  Abraham,  came  down  to  see  whether  the  people 
living  in  the  cities  of  the  plain  had  done  altogether  according 
lo  the  cry  that  had  come  to  him  ;  the  angels  asked  the  disciples 


BEGINNINGS   ABROAD.  6y 

on  the  morning  of  the  ascension  why  they  stood  gazing  up  into 
heaven  ;  the  same  Jesus  that  had  been  taken  up  from  them  into 
heaven  would  come  again  in  like  manner.  These  and  similar 
passages  were  sufficient  proof  to  his  mind  that  the  home  of 
God  was  above,  and  that  we  obeyed  a  divine  instinct  when  we 
"  lifted  up  "  our  hearts  to  him  there. 

The  locality  having  been  spoken  of,  the  next  thought  was 
the  company  gathered  together  there.  Whom  have  we  there 
that  heaven  should  be  so  dear  to  us  ? 

(i)  The  Father  is  there.  Heaven  is  the  home,  the  dwelling- 
place  of  God.  No  home  is  complete  without  the  father ;  and 
no  f^imily  is  complete  unless  they  can  include  the  father  among 
them.  Our  Father  is  in  heaven.  How  delightful  the  thought 
of  one  day  being  with  him  amidst  all  the  joy  and  splendor  of 
home!  Then  (2)  Jesus  is  there.  He  about  whom  we  have 
read,  whose  Spirit  has  created  us  anew  in  him,  whose  blood 
bought  us,  and  whose  love  saved  us  ;  Jesus  is  there  ;  and  we 
look  to  our  home  in  heaven  with  longing  eyes,  because  there,  if 
not  before,  we  shall  see  him  who  is  crowned  with  glory  and 
honor.  Then  (3)  the  angels  are  there.  The  pure  and  spotless 
creations  of  God,  who  have  known  nothing  of  sin  and  sorrow 
and  travail,  who  have  ever  lived  their  life  of  bright  intelligence 
and  holy  service  in  the  sunshine  of  God's  presence.  These  are 
there,  and  we  shall  meet  them,  and  tell  them  of  something  they 
have  never  felt — the  compassion  and  love  of  Jesus  for  sinful 
men.  Then  (4)  there  will  be  the  saints,  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect.  All  the  old  heroes  of  God,  the  warriors  and  the 
kings,  the  prophets  and  the  poets,  the  apostles  and  the  early 
martyrs,  all  will  be  there,  and  we  shall  be  able  to  hold  sweet 
communion  with  them  all  ;  and  our  own  loved  ones,  the  father 
and  mother,  sisters  and  brothers,  the  babes,  and  the  young  and 
old,  they  will  be  among  this  shining  band,  who  swell  the  ranks 
of  the  redeemed  before  the  throne  of  God.  O  what  a  company 
is  there  !  Father,  Jesus,  angels,  saints — all  who  have  fallen 
asleep  in  Jesus — all  there  !     Waiting  for  us  to  come. 

Another  point  to  which  Mr.  Moody  called  attention  was 
that  it  is  our  treasure-house.     The  only  things  we  have  or  can 


68  MOODY   AND    SAN  KEY  IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

have,  as  saints,  will  be  found  there.  All  else  must  be  lefL 
Death  strips  of  every thinf;  but  heavenly  treasure.  How  this 
should  lead  us  more  and  more  to  obey  the  Master's  injunction, 
and  seek  "to  lay  up  treasure  in  heaven."  It  will  be  there  all 
safe  when  we  want  it;  for  there  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth 
corrupt,  and  thieves  do  not  break  through  and  steal.  Not  only 
is  heaven  our  treasure-house — it  is  our  reward.  There  we 
meet  with  the  full  fruition  of  all  our  labor  ;  there  we  receive 
every  man  his  own  reward  for  his  own  work.  No  mixing  up, 
no  confusion  ;  to  each  is  given  his  full  due.  The  Christian 
need  not  e.vpect  full  compensation  below ;  he  will  not  get  it. 
Heaven — and  in  heaven  he  will  receive  all  that  he  expects. 
Mr.  Moody  next  spoke  very  beautifully  about  heaven  being 
the  place  where  our  names  are  written.  The  disciples  of 
Christ  came  back  to  him  from  one  of  their  journeys  flushed 
with  victory,  because  even  the  devils  had  been  subject  unto 
them;  but  the  Master  said  they  had  to  rejoice  because 
their  names  were  written  in  heaven.  Our  names  have  gone  on 
before  us.  Just  as  a  man  sends  his  goods  often  before  him 
when  he  is  traveling,  and  he  himself  follows  after,  jusc  so  our 
names  have  gone  on  before,  and  we  are  journeying  after  them. 
We  are  known  in  heaven  before  we  get  there.  Tlie  name  of 
each  saint  is  in  the  book  of  life,  and  it  cannot  be  blotted  out. 
Then,  again,  heaven  is  to  be  our  rest.  The  time  to  toil  and 
suffer  is  now.  We  ought  not  to  want  to  rest  here.  Mr. 
Moody,  on  this  point,  quoted  the  example  which  the  life  of 
Paul  gives  us  of  a  man  who  conceived  of  the  present  being  a 
life  of  service,  and  not  of  rest.  The  speaker's  soul  seemed  to 
be  set  on  fire  with  the  thought  of  Paul's  labors  and  consecrated 
ambition  to  serve  the  Master  ;  with  words  of  true  eloquence  he 
described  the  sacred  passion  which  Paul  had  for  his  Master's 
work,  and  wound  up  a  splendid  panegyric  on  Paul's  character, 
by  wishing  that  modern  Christianity  could  be  imbued  with 
some  of  Paul's  fervor. 

The  last  point  of  this  noble  address  was,  "  How  to  get  to 
heaven."  And  here  Mr.  Moody  found  an  opportunity  for  doing 
that  which  is  so  dear  to  his  heart,  namely,  preaching  the  Gospel 


BEGINNINGS   ABROAD.  69 

of  Christ  to  sinful  men.  The  address  which  throughout  had 
been  interspersed  with  touching  and  beautiful  illustrations,  and 
now  and  again  by  Mr.  Sankey  singing,  was  brought  to  a  close 
with  an  earnest  appeal  to  all  **  to  become  as  little  children,  and  so 
enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Once  more,  as  it  had  been  many 
times  that  day,  was  our  dear  brother  Sankey's  voice  heard  giv« 
ing  his  beautiful  rendering  of  one  of  his  choice  solos,  and  when 
the  benediction  had  been  pronounced,  and  the  six  hours' 
service  had  come  to  a  close,  all  present  felt  that  the  time  had 
gone  too  quickly.  The  place  of  meeting  had  been  none  other 
than  thp  house  of  God  and  the  gate  of  heaven.  Thus  ended 
the  ''  all-day  "  meeting,  but,  thank  God,  not  thus  ended  the 
memory  of  it ;  that  will  live  till  the  last  year  of  our  lives,  and 
many  a  soul  traveling  home  to  God  will  think  of  it  as  one  of 
the  deep  pools  by  the  %ay  dug  by  the  hand  of  a  loving  God 
for  the  refreshment  of  his  children. 

In  the  evening  a  Gospel  service  was  held,  Messrs.  Moody 
and  Moorhouse  speaking ;  the  chapel  was  filled  to  overflowing, 
and  many  souls  went  away  having  found  peace  in  Jesus. 

Let  the  following  incident,  reported  by  Henry  Moorhouse, 
illustrate  the  feeling  among  the  poor  and  needy  : 

A  gentleman  passing  down  a  street  in  Gateshead  heard 
some  one  knocking  at  the  window  of  a  cottage.  He  stopped 
and  a  respectable  woman  came  to  the  door,  and  said :  "  Come 
in  1  "     He  said  he  could  not  then,  as  he  was  going  to  a  meeting. 

"  Oh,  sir,  for  God's  sake  come  in,  and  tell  me  something 
about  Jesus,  for  I  am  wretched." 

"  What  is  the  matter?  "  said  my  friend. 

She  said,  "  I  am  lost ;  oh  tell  me  what  I  must  do  to  be 
saved.  I  have  been  standing  at  my  window  all  the  day  to  see 
if  a  Christian  would  come  along,  and  if  it  had  been  a  beggar 
who  loved  the  Saviour,  I  would  have  called  him  in." 

She  had  been  at  a  meeting  a  week  before,  and  had  been  in 
a  miserable  state  ever  since.  A  Christian  lady  called  to  see 
her  and  told  her  about  the  love  of  Jesus.  She  trusted,  and  was 
saved  "  I  saw  her  to-day,"  said  the  speaker,  "  as  happy  and 
bright  as  possible." 


7©  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Boyd,  Presbyterian  minister  of  the  place, 
after  describing  the  meetings  in  the  Wesleyan  Chapel,  says 
after  tlie  evangelists  had  gone  : 

'*  Such  has  been  the  number  of  cases,  and  such  many  of 
the  parties,  that  had  it  been  told  to  any  Christian  friend  a  fort- 
nJL^ht  ago,  he  would  not  have  believed  it.  Even  with  all  this 
before  us,  so  wonderful  is  it,  that  we  almost  feel  as  if  we  dreamt 
Gods  Spirit  still  works  powerfully.  Every  night  souls  are 
aroused,  and,  under  the  guidance  of  Christian  friends,  led  to 
Jesus." 

At  Stockton-on-Tees,  in  which  the  early  part  of  November 
was  spent,  the  result  is  thus  described  by  an  intelligent  observer 
on  the  spot ;  and  once  for  all  we  call  attention  to  the  union  of 
prayer  and  Catholic  feeling  before  and  in  the  work : 

"  This  work  has  been  very  great ;  afid  in  examining,  for  our 
own  future  guidance  and  the  guidance  of  others,  into  the 
apparent  causes  of  success,  we  are  struck  with  the  following: 
First,  the  preparation  of  united,  believing  prayer.  Mr.  Moody 
said,  that  on  coming  into  the  first  meeting,  he  and  Mr.  Sankey 
felt  that  they  were  among  a  praying  people ;  and  to  this  and  the 
next  cause,  viz.  :  the  united  action  of  the  ministers  of  the  town,  he 
mainly  attributed  the  fact,  that  in  no  place  which  they  had 
visited  had  they  witnessed  such  evident  results  in  so  short  a 
time.  It  was  very  delightful  to  see,  at  each  of  the  services, 
eight  or  ten  of  these  devoted  pastors,  most  of  them  in  the  vigor 
of  young  manhood,  strong  souled,  intelligent  men,  representing 
various  shades  of  denominational  belief,  but  merging  all  differ- 
ences in  mutual  affection,  and  the  common  desire  to  aid  in  the 
glorious  work  ;  and  many  hearts  were  constrained  by  the  sight 
to  give  thanks  for  such  a  ministry  in  Stockton.  Another  very 
important  feature  was  the  absence  of  noise  in  the  meetings.  The 
experience  of  the  past  few  days  will,  we  think,  have  convinced 
them  that  the  best  and  most  successfi  1  prayer-meetings  evei 
held  in  Stockton  have  been  the  quietest,  remindino^  us  of  the 
old  laly's  description,  'God  Almighty  was  so  near  that  nobody 
had  to  shout  to  Him.' 

**  Nothing;    is    so    remarkable   in  this  revival  as   the  utter 


BEGINNINGS    ABROAD. 


71 


demolishing  of  the  old-fashioned  prayer-meeting.  Enter  solemn 
minister  and  solemn  people,  scattered — six, — eight, — ten,— 
over  a  great  area.  A  long  slow  hymn.  Long  portion  of  the 
Word.  Two  elders  pray  two  long  prayers,  in  which  they  go 
from  Jerusalem,  and  round  about  unto  Illyricum,  and  a  great 
deal  farther. 

"  Now  we  have  crammed  meetings.  All  sit  close  together. 
The  singing  is  lively — new  songs,  new  tunes.  A  few  words 
from  the  minister  give  the  key-note.  Prayers  are  short.  A  few 
texts  from  the  Word  of  God  are  frequently  interspersed.  Brief 
exhortations.  ...  All  this  comes  from  our  brethren  from 
America.  Why  have  we  not  found  out  how  to  conduct  a 
prayer-meeting  before  }  We  in  this  country  have  been  bound 
hand  and  foot  by  traditions.  In  the  far  West  of  America,  at 
Chicago,  for  instance,  there  were  no  traditions.  The  only 
people  that  had  traditions  there,  were  the  Indians.  The 
brethren  have  thoroughly  solved  this  question  of  prayer-meet- 
ings for  us.     We  thank  them. 

"The  border-town  of  Carlisle  was  next  approached.  The 
evangelists  are  nearing  Scotland.  The  place  where,  in  former 
days  Englishman  and  Scotsman  used  to  meet  in  desperate  feud, 
becomes  the  scene  of  victories  of  another  kind.  The  truth  is 
the  weapon,  and  the  Victor  is  Jesus  Christ.  This  none  would 
more  readily  own  than  the  instruments  He  employed. 

"This  is  the  Lord's  doings:  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes. 
As  in  other  places,  the  meetings  have  been  crowded  to  excess  ; 
the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  Mr.  Christie  is  the 
pastor,  proved  altogether  inadequate  to  accommodate  the 
throngs,  and  the  large  Wesleyan  Chapel  close  at  hand  was  also 
thrown  open,  both  buildings  being  completely  filled.  The 
power  of  God  was  present  in  a  most  marked  degree ;  the 
solemn  and  magnificent  songs,  seeming  now  to  bring  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  right  down  into  the  streets  of  our  own  city,  or,  again, 
to  take  U3  right  up  to  the  gates  of  heaven,  prepared  the  way  for 
the  word  of  life  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  Moody;  that  word  was 
with  power,  and  many  were  the  anxious  souls  pressing  forward 
to  know  the  way  of  life.     Jesus  has  become  precious  to  many  ; 


72  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   GREAT    BRITAIN. 

souls  have  been  born  of  God,  and  tears  of  contrition  have  given 
place  to  tears  of  joy. 

"This  much  as  to  the  blessing  bestowed  on  the  uncon- 
verted ;  but  what  shall  be  said  as  to  that  which  has  rested  upon 
the  Christians  ?  It  has  been  a  time  of  drawing  together  such 
as  we  have  not  known  anything  of  before.  Ministers  of  the 
different  denominations  have  thrown  themselves  heart  and  soul 
into  the  work,  and  the  close  of  the  week  finds  us  recognizing, 
not  in  theory  but  in  fact,  that  we  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus, 
and  banded  together,  that  by  our  union  in  Him  we  may  honor 
His  blessed  name. 

"  Never  shall  we  forget  Mr.  Moody's  farewell  address.  He 
would  not  say  '  Good-bye  !  '  No  !  *  Good-night '  rather,  and 
meet  them  all  in  the  morning,  in  the  dawn  of  eternal  day. 
Then  strong  men  bowed  and  wept  out  their  manly  sorrow  like 
children,  blessed  children  as  they  were  of  the  same  great 
Father  ;  and  one  of  our  brothers  lifted  our  American  friends  up 
in  the  arms  of  love  in  prayer  to  our  heavenly  Father,  the 
Jubilee  Singers  singing  thereupon,  *  Siiall  we  meet  beyond  the 
River  ?  *  Then  came  the  benediction.  The  business  was 
over,  and  the  grand  occasion  past,  the  memory  thereof  to  die 
no  more. 

"'Although  our  friends  took  leave  thus  of  the  country 
brethren,  they  tarried  with  us,  the  people  of  Newcastle,  yet  a 
while.  On  that  Wednesday  night,  Thursday  night,  and  Friday, 
were  immense  meetings,  attended  by  thousands,  overflowing 
into  neighboring  churches,  although  Brunswick  Place  Chapel 
would  itself  hold  two  thousand.  At  these  Messrs.  Moody  and 
Sankey  were  present.  Scores  were  converted.  They  were 
present  at  the  noonday  meetings  of  Thursday,  Friday,  and 
Saturday,  at  the  last  of  which  between  two  and  three  thousand 
people  met  from  eleven  to  half-past  one  o'clock.  On  Friday 
there  was  a  midnight  meeting,  and  four  were  rescued  from  sin 
and  shame.  The  Saturday  meeting  was  the  last  attended  by 
Mr.  Moody.  Hundreds  had  private  conversation  with  him 
afterward,  and  crowds  went  with  him  to  the  station,  en  route  for 
Carlisle." 


THE   REVIVAL    IN   SCOTLAND.  73 


CHAPTER     XII. 

THE    WORD    IN    EDINBURGH. 

Reports  of  the  wonderful  interest  reacheJ  Scotland,  and 
Edinburgh  heard  the  story.  "  Rev.  Mr.  Kelman  went  twice  to 
Newcastle  to  see  if  the  reports  of  what  they  heard  were  true. 
He  returned  overflowing  with  joy,  and  full  of  glowing  expecta- 
tions for  Scotland."  He  spread  the  tidings ;  his  report  was 
believed,  and  ministers  and  laymen  united  in  inviting  the  evan- 
gelists to  Edinburgh. 

On  Sunday,  the  23d  of  November,  they  began  their  work  in 
the  Music  Hall,  with  two  thousand  present,  and  other  thousands 
seeking  admission  in  vain.  The  next  day  five  hundred  met  at 
noon  to  pray,  and  soon  the  attendance  at  the  daily  prayer- 
meeting  exceeded  a  thousand.  An  all-day  meeting  was  held. 
A  meeting  for  students  was  announced  in  the  Free  Assembly 
Hall.  So  great  was  the  eagerness  to  obtain  admittance,  that 
the  doors  were  besieged  by  an  immense  crowd  after  it  had 
become  apparent  that  the  hall  was  full.  Mr.  Moody  went  out 
and  addressed  the  thousands  in  the  open  air,  and  returned  and 
upoke  to  two  thousand  within,  the  most  eminent  professors  in 
Scotland  sitting  around  him  on  the  platform.  A  service  was 
advertised  for  the  lower  classes,  and  three  thousand  attended. 
Every  evening  there  were  around  the  pulpit  ministers  of  all 
denominations,  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  while  among  the 
audience  there  were  members  of  the  nobility,  professors  from 
Ihe  University,  and  distinguished  lawyers  from  the  Parliament 
House. 

At  this  time  many  abusive  pamphlets  weie  put  forth  against 
the  methods  and  the  men,  and   reports   were  circulated  repre- 
senting that  Mr.  Moody  had  not  the  confidence  of  his  brethren 
at  home.     Measures  were  taken  to  sift  this  evil  rumor  to  the 
4 


74  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

bottom.     Accordingly  in'  response  to  inquiries   from    abroad, 
the  following  endorsement  was  proposed  and  sent  to  Scotland  : 

Chicago,  May  21st,  1874. 

We,  the  undersigned.  Pastors  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  learn- 
ing  that  the  Christian  character  of  D.  L.  Moody  has  been 
attacked,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  his  influence  as  an  Evan- 
gelist in  Scotland,  hereby  certify  that  his  labors  in  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  and  as  an  Evangelist  in  this  City 
and  elsewhere,  according  to  the  best  information  we  can  get, 
have  been  Evangelical  and  Christian  in  the  highest  sense  of 
those  terms;  and  we  do  not  hesitate  to  commend  him  as  an 
earnest  Christian  worker,  worthy  of  the  confidence  of  our  Scotch 
and  English  brethren,  with  whom  he  is  now  laboring ;  believing 
that  the  Master  will  be  honored  by  them  in  so  receiving  him 
among  them  as  a  co-laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord. 

A.  J.  Jutkins,  Presiding  Elder  of  Chicago  Dist. 

C.  H.  Fowler,  President  North-western  University. 

Arthur  Edwards,  Editor  North-western  Christian  Advocate 
(Methodist  organ),  Chicago. 

M.  C.  Briggs. 

S.  McChesney,  Pastor  of  the  Trinity  M.  E.  Church. 

W.  H.  Daniels,  Pastor  Park  Avenue  M.  E.  Church. 

Sanford  Washburn,  Pastor  Halsted  St.  Ch.,  Methodis\ 
Episc. 

C.  G.  Trusdell,  Gen.  Supt.  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society. 

Wm.  F.  Stewart,  Sec.  Preachers'  Aid  Society. 

G.  L.  S.  Stuff,  Pastor  Fulton  St.  M.  E.  Church. 

T.  P.  Marsh,  Pastor  Austin  M.  E.  Church. 

Lewis  Meredith,  Pastor  Oakland  M.  E.  Church. 

Arthur  Mitchell,  Pastor  First  Presb.  Ch. 

Gleij  Wood,  Western  Sec.  American  Tract  Society. 

C.  D.  Hclmer,  Pastor  Union  Park  Congregational  Church. 

Arthur  Swazey,  Pastor  Ashland  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church. 

Rev.  N.  F.  Ravlin.  Pastor  Temple  Ch. 

A.  G.  Ebcrhart,  Asst.  Pastor. 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND. 


75 


David  J.  Burrel,  Pastor  Westminster  Presbyterian  Church. 

David  Swinf^,  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church. 

Edward  P.  Goodwin,  Pastor  of  First  Cong.  Church, 

I..  T.  Chamberhiin,  Pastor  of  New  England  Cong.  Church. 

Edward  F.  Williams;  Edward  N.  Packard  ;  John  Kimball; 
\V.  A.  Lloyd;  C.  A.  Sowle  ;  John  Bradshaw  ;  C.  F.  Reed;  S. 
F.  Dickinson  ;  A.  Wesley  Bill ;  Albert  Bushnell,  Congregational 
Ministers. 

T.  W.  Goodspeed,  Second  Baptist  Ch. 

W.  A.  Bartlett,  Plymouth  Cong.  Ch. 

R.  W.  Patterson,  Second  Presbyterian  Ch. 

W.  W.  Everts,  First  Baptist  Ch. 

State  of  Illinois,  Cook  County, ) 

C//y  0/  Chicago.  )  ^^* 

W.  W.  Vanarsdale,  being  first  duly  sworn  upon  oath,  says 
that  he  is  the  Superintendent  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  that  he  knows 
the  foregoing  signatures  to  be  genuine. 

W.  W.  VANARSDALE. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me, 
this  26th  day  of  May,  1874. 

Isaac  H.  Pedrick,  Notary  Public. 

Thus  the  temporary  aspersion  was  removed,  and  he  was 
nobly  vindicated  as  a  true,  honest,  earnest  man  of  God. 

The  Tide  Rising. 

We  arc  having  a  very  good  time  here  just  now,  under  the 
preaching  of  Mr.  Moody  and  the  singing  of  Mr.  Sankey. 

We  are  all  delighted  with  them;  ministers  of  all  denomina- 
tions are  joining  cordially  in  the  work,  and  God  is  indeed  work- 
ing graciously.  About  2,000  are  out  every  night  heaiing, 
many  more  come  and  cannot  get  into  the  church.  Two 
churches  are  to  be  opened  simultaneously  each  night  next  week. 

The  singing  of  Mr.  Sankey  lays  the  gospel  message  and 
invitation  very  distinctly  and  powerfully  on   the  consciences  of 


7 6  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IX    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

the  people  :  and  Mr.  >roocly's  gospel  is  clear,  earnest,  distinct^ 
and  well  illustrated— telling  of  death  and  resurrection — the 
*'  Gospel  of  God."  He  is  a  first-rate  workman,  and  very  prac- 
lical,  and  God  has  been  blessing  his  preaching. 

Every  evening  there  have  been  a  number  of  souls  coming 
into  the  inquiry  rooms  ;  but  last  night,  when  preaching  on  *'  the 
Son  of  man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost,"  the 
Spirit  seemed  to  be  working  in  special  power,  and  old  Formal- 
ity got  his  neck  broken,  and  the  wounded  and  weeping  souls 
came  into  the  inquiry  meeting  in  droves.  I  had  to  speak  at 
one  time  to  seven  all  at  once,  because  there  was  more  corn  than 
reapers  ;  and  others  were  similarly  circumstanced.  I  saw  Mr. 
Moody  all  the  evening  with  generally  more  than  one.  Three 
rooms  were  open  for  inquirers,  and  I  don't  know  what  they  had 
in  the  others,  but  we  had  about  forty  names  on  the  paper  at  the 
close,  of  those  we  conversed  with  in  our  room.  Mr.  Moody 
keeps  with  us  in  the  elders'  vestry.  Others,  who  are  less  sus- 
ceptible and  can  stand  at  doors,  do  so,  and  lay  hold  of  the  peo- 
ple as  they  retire.  About  one  hundred,  I  should  think,  were 
.spoken  with  privately  last  night,  and  numbers  of  them  decided 
for  Christ.  About  ten  did  so  (or  professed  to  do  so),  in  con- 
versation with  myself.  May  the  Divine  Spirit  make  it  a  grand 
reality  to  their  souls  that  Christ  is  theirs!  On  Tuesday  night 
J  had  seven  who  professed  conversion. 

On  Wednesday  I  fought  away  with  two  only,  both  chronic 
cases,  deep  in  the  mire  of  their  own  thoughts,  and  feelings,  and 
reasonings,  and  I  left  them  very  much  the  same  as  I  found 
them.  (One  of  them  has  been  saved.)  This  was,  I  suppose, 
to  teach  me  this  lesson,  that  it  is  al  ogether  God's  work  to  save, 
and  man  is  powerless. 

This  experience  made  me  go  out  next  night  with  Jesus'  word 
on  my  lips,  "This  kind  gocth  not  out  but  by  prayer  and  fast- 
ing;''^  prayer  is  the  symbol  of  our  dependence  upon  God,  and 
fasting  is  the  symbol  of  "no  confidence  in  the  flesh  " — or  self- 
renunciation.  No  devil  has  so  powerful  a  hold  of  an  anxious 
soul  but  that  prayer  and  fasting  will  cast  him  out  in  the  name 
of  Jcsu5. 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  77 

Our  noon  prayer-meeting  is  well  attended ;  about  700  are 
out  daily,  and  there  is  a  remarkable  quickening  and  earnestness 
among  ministers  and  Christians  generally.  I  know  Edinburgh 
well,  and  I  am  safe  to  say  that  I  never  knew  a  time  when  there 
was  a  greater  appearance  of  harmony  among  Christians  ;  unity 
among  the  Lord's  workers  ;  and  humble,  prayerful  waiting  upon 
God  for  blessing. 

On  Friday  there  was  much  blessing  to  Christians,  and  num- 
bers of  souls  were  also  brought  in.  On  that  evening  we  had 
delightful  work  in  the  inquiry  meeting,  and,  I  think,  I  had  about 
half-a-dozen  I  had  good  hope  of.  One  was  specially  interest- 
ing, a  stranger  from  beyond  Stirling.  She  was  passing  through, 
came  to  the  meeting,  heard,  was  awakened,  came  into  the 
inquiry  meeting,  and  into  my  hands,  along  with  a  girl  of  twelve, 
and  both  professed  to  see  the  way  of  salvation.  This  woman 
was  astonished  to  hear  that  she  had  just  to  believe  what  she 
read  there  to  be  saved.  She  said,  "  Is  that  all?  have  I  only  to 
believe.?"  "Just  to  believe  that  forgiveness  is  yours  as  a  gift 
from  God."  "Then  I  do  believe."  "Then  God  says  you  are 
justified  from  all  things." 

Large  numbers  were  out  again  last  night,  and  we  had  a 
meeting  for  inquirers  at  the  Free  Assembly  Hall.  About  forty 
confessed  that  they  were  new  converts,  and  about  forty  stood 
up  as  anxious  to  be  saved,  and  were  asked  to  go  to  the  other 
side  of  the  hall,  where  they  were  conversed  with. 

I  got  down  beside  a  young  lady  whom  I  saw  anxious  in  the 
inquiry  meeting,  but  did  not  have  the  opportunity  of  speaking 
to  her,  and  kept  at  work  for  an  hour  with  her  over  the  Word  of 
God.  I  could  not  tell  you  at  length  the  deep  interest  of  this 
case  ;  but  at  the  close  I  had  some  hope  that  she  has  divine  life 
and  will  yet  get  liberty. 

A  beautiful  incident  happened  as  I  was  speaking  to  her.  A 
young  girl  bounded  up  to  us  and  said,  with  an  overflowing  joy 
"  I  am  the  girl  you  spoke  to  at  the  Barclay  Church  and  gave  the 
book  to  ;  now  I  am  just  going,  but  could  not  leave  without 
coming  to  tell  you  that  I  have  found  Jesus.^' 

We  had  a  ver)'  sweet  meeting  at  noon  to-day.     J^Ir.  Moody 


98  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

gave  us  the  prayers  that  God  does  not  answer — Moses,  Elijah, 
Paul.  I  poinled  out  to  him  afterward,  to  his  great  delight,  that 
Moses'  prayer  was  answered,  to  see  the  land  1483  years  after- 
ward, but  not  as  in  the  midst  of  Israel,  but  in  better  company, 
with  Jesus  in  the  midst,  on  the  mount  of  transfiguration  ;  and 
he  saw  the  land  in  the  light  of  the  glory  of  Christ.  And  when 
he  returned  he  did  not  care  a  bit  for  the  land.  He  was  all 
taken  up  with  Christ,  and  instead  of  speaking  of  it  or  the  goodly 
mountain  and  Lebanon,  he  and  Elias  spake  to  Him  of  His 
decease  that  he  should  accomplish  at. Jerusalem,  the  thing 
nearest  his  heart.  That  is  the  sight  we,  too,  shall  get  of  it  (if 
we  do  not  see  it  now)  when  He  comes  in  his  glory,  and  all  his 
saints  with  Him. 

We  have  had  a  most  impressive  address  from  Mr.  Moody 
this  evening  on  the  text,  "  JV/icr^  art  thou  ?  "  He  spoke  very 
solemnly  to  Christians,  and  said  if  they  were  to  wake  up,  Edin- 
burgh would  be  filled  with  awakening  from  one  end  to  the  other, 
mside  of  forty-eight  hours.  Then  he  spoke  to  sinners,  and  it 
was  most  alarming.     The  three  steps  to  hell,  he  said,  were — 

I.  Ne:^lcct ;  2.  Refuse ;  3.  Despise. 

He  told  them,  even  weeping,  of  their  danger,  and  besought 
them  to  get  the  question  settled  now.  Ah,  it  is  that  tender, 
weeping  power  in  dear  Mr.  Moody,  that  is  so  overwhelming  to 
sinners.  He  is  now  preaching  in  one  of  the  best  and  largest 
churches  of  the  New  Town,  and  yet  he  has  been  quite  as  faith- 
ful as  when  among  the  poor  last  week  in  the  Old  Town  ;  and 
there  have  been  some  marked  cases  of  awakening.  Mr.  San- 
key's  singing  of ''Jesus  of  Nazareth"  had  a  fine  effect  upon 
Ihera.  I  saw  it  striking  in  upon  the  hearts  of  many  ;  and  many 
weeping  eyes  told  of  its  power.  A  widow  in  front  of  me,  with 
her  little  boy  by  her  side,  was  moved  deeply,  and  publ'cly 
addressed  by  Mr.  Moody,  listened  with  very  wistful  eyes;  and 
both  of  them  came  to  the  second  meeting.  I  was  anxious  about 
the  result  of  the  inquiry  meeting  in  that  church,  and  they  were 
rather  long  in  coming  in,  but  it  turned  out  nearly  as  good  as 
before.  About  fifty  were  conversed  with  this  first  night,  and 
Uicre  seemed  to  be  quite  a  number  that  believed. 


THE   REVIVAL    IN   SCOTLAND.  Jg 

The  first  I  got  hold  of  was  a  working  man  ;  and  after  show- 
ing him  in  the  Word  the  way  of  life  and  peace,  and  getting  him 
to  decide,  he  said  : 

"  My  wife's  here." 

"  Where  ? " 

"  Sitting  there  by  herself." 

*'  Please  bring  her  here." 

She,  too,  professed  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  they 
went  home  together  believing. 

Then  I  got  a  youth  about  eighteen  in  a  terrible  state  of 
anxiety,  and  wrought  with  him  a  long  time,  and  though  hopeful, 
I  do  not  know  that  he  sees  clearly ;  but  he  lives  near  me,  and 
I  hope  to  see  him  again  to-morrow.  The  life  is  in,  I  believe, 
but  he  wants  liberty. 

Then  I  got  a  word  with  about  a  dozen  besides,  and  gave 
them  books. 

I  saw  three  all  at  once  profess  Christ  in  Mr.  Moody's  hands. 

But  there  were  chronic  cases  that  baffled  the  whole  of  us, 
and  after  ten  o'clock  there  was  a  man  in  a  corner  to  whom  Mr. 
Gall  had  spoken  all  night,  who  was  all  but  desperate  with  con- 
viction, Mr.  Moody  prayed  with  him,  and  he  was  bowed  down 
and  weeping,  but  he  had  to  leave  him  still  in  bondage,  showing 
how  entirely  it  is  God's  work  to  set  a  soul  free. 

Mr.  Sankey  ssmg  "  ^esus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by.""  There 
was  a  power  in  it ;  many  wept.  At  the  close  I  had  three  or 
four  anxious  sinners,  and  about  as  many  anxious  saints.  Mr. 
Moody  had  a  goodly  number  professing  faith  in  his  hands. 
Others  also  were  busy.  I  had  some  interesting  cases  of  saints 
in  darkness  who  again  got  light.  Just  as  I  was  leaving,  Mr. 
Moody  put  into  my  hands  a  young  lady  who  had  been  conversed 
with  by  one  and  another  all  the  evening ;  and  just  as  I  spoke  the 
very  last  word  I  mtended to  speak  to  her,  her  face  was  lighted  up 
with  joy,  and  she  said,  "  I  now  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus."  Dr. 
Thomson  remarked  as  we  were  coming  out,  that  he  thoupht 
it  had  been  a  night  of  more  solid  work  than  any  we  have  yet 
had.  One  good  thing  in  being  in  one  of  the  New  Town 
churches  is,  that  "the  poor  rich,"  as  a  noble  worker  calls  them. 


8o  MOODY   AXD   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

have  got  a  chance  for  their  souls.  The  most  respectable  men 
and  women  have  been  plentiful  in  the  meeting,  and  not  absent 
from  the  inquiry  rooms.  The  poor  have  far  more  privileges 
and  opportunities  of  being  saved  than  the  better  classes.  But 
they,  too,  are  getting  a  chance  now  ;  and  we  have  seen  some 
marked  instances  of  salvation  among  them.  We  returned  home, 
praising  God  for  his  grace  and  blessing. 

I  have  observed  that  Mr.  Moody  speaks  to  inquirers  with 
an  open  Bible  in  his  hands,  fixing  them  down  to  the  Word 
of  God,  and  anchoring  their  souls  on  the  living  rock  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  He  also  gets  them  to  their  knees  in  prayer  ;  and 
I  have  seen  them  rising  from  his  side  by  twos  and  threes,  wiping 
their  eyes,  and  smiling  through  their  tears,  confessing  Christ. 

Dr.  Thomson  said,  "  I  think  there  could-  not  have  been 
fewer  .than  one  hundred  inquirers  here  to-night,  and  I  think 
more  have  professed  faith  in  Christ  than  any  night."  It  was 
very  cheering  to  see  the  great  heartiness  with  which  Dr.  Thom- 
son entered  into  the  work  of  the  inquirers'  meeting  ;  and  also  to 
see  other  ministers  there,  in  considerable  force,  from  his  own 
church  and  other  churches  engaged  in  pointing  sinners  to  Christ. 
Having  been  every  night  at  work  for  an  hour  and  a  half  in  the 
inquiry  meeting,  and  judging  of  the  work  from  seeing  about 
forty  come  to  Christ  in  my  own  hands,  I  judge  that  the  I,ord  is 
doing  marvellous  things  among  us,  whereof  we  are  glad. 

Seven  professed  faith  in  Christ  all  at  one  time  in  one  com- 
pany, and  we  had  a  conviction  that  it  was  reality  in  at  least 
four  of  them.  On  Friday  night,  after  Mr.  Moody's  solemn 
word,  there  seemed  to  be  a  great  smashing  up  of  souls  (as  Mr. 
Radcliffe  used  to  call  it),  and  among  others,  a  lady  came  into 
my  hands  from  San  Francisco,  California,  here  for  the  healing 
of  her  body  ;  and  her  trouble  was  that  the  Spirit,  she  thought 
brul  left  her.  We  showed  that  her  anxiety  to  be  saved  and  her 
clinging  to  Christ  were  evidences  to  the  contrary;  and  she 
left  after  ten  minutes'  conversation  in  a  state  of  blessed  eman- 
cipation and  comfort.  She  was  brought  to  me  by  one  who  got 
out  of  bondag*.'  the  night  before  ;  and  I  said,  "  Perhaps  you  will 
be  bringing  two  each  on  Sunday  night." 


^ 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    3C0TLA^fD.  gl 

Tlie  last  case  we  dealt  with  on  Friday  night  was  the  most 
solemn  we  have  seen,  except  that  man  who  was  specially  prayed 
for  in  the  noon-day  meeting  the  other  day,  and  saved  that  night. 
This  was  a  young  woman  weeping  floods  of  tears.  She  com 
plained  of  a  hard  heart,  and  feared  the  scorn  of  the  ungodly 
when  she  went  home ;  she  faintly  professed  faith  in  Christ. 

I  felt  such  an  interest  in  this  girl  that  I  could  not  sleep 
without  sending  her  a  line  by  post,  inviting  her  to  come  next 
day  that  my  wife  might  read  the  Scriptures  with  her,  and  tell 
her  more  about  the  Lord  Jesus.  She  came :  I  was  at  a  meet- 
ing I  have  on  Saturday  evening.  We  made  special  prayer  for 
her,  and  the  person  who  led  us  seemed  to  get  near  to  God,  and 
we  had  a  conviction  that  we  were  heard.  It  was  so  ;  for  on 
my  return  home,  I  was  met  with  the  cheering  intelligence, 
*'The  girl  has  been  here  :  I  have  read  with  her  for  nearly  two 
hours  ;  and  she  has  just  left,  saved  and  happy.  She  said  she 
faintly  believed  last  night,  as  you  said,  but  she  is  now  at 
liberty,  and  says  she  never  saw  the  fullness  and  freeness  of 
salvation  as  she  sees  it  now.  Her  eyes  were  red  and  swollen 
with  weeping  last  night  ;  but  she  was  looking  bright  and  smi- 
ling ;  and  the  only  tears  she  wept  were  tears  of  expressed 
gratitude  that  Jesus  had  received  her,  and  that  we  had  been  so 
interested  in  her  as  to  care  for  her  for  Jesus'  sake  as  we  had 
done."  We  have  seen  her  since,  and  she  is  looking  unto  Jesus; 
but  her  demeanor  is  quiet  and  subdued,  and  she  looks  as  one 
would  do  who  had  just  escaped  from  drowning,  or  from  a  terri- 
ble railway  collision. 

We  have  had  a  meeting  to-day  for  parents  and  children.  It 
assembled — about  2,000  were  present  ;  the  parents  got  a  good 
word.  Our  dear  brother  Sankey's  singing  happily  gave  the 
Gospel  to  the  children  in  a  number  of  gospel  hymns. 

Mr.  Moody  addressed  parents  from  Deut.  iv.  5-1 1  ;  v.  29  ; 
vi.  7.  Some  young  people  think  they  hear  too  much  about 
Christ  and  salvation  from  their  parents,  but  here  they  have 
authority  from  God  to  speak  of  them,  morning,  noon,  and 
night  J  when  lying  down  and  rising  up  ;  when  sitting  in  the 
house  and  walking  by  the  way.     There  should    be    the  most 


82  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

diligent  in«;tniction  of  the  young  by  parents,  storing  theii  minds 
with  ihc  Word  of  God. 

Then  from  Mark  x.  13-17  he  addressed  the  children,  and 
said  that  this  is  the  only  time  when  Christ  was  said  to  be 
muc!i  displeased.  He  told  of  the  daughter  of  an  infidel  dying 
in  peace,  after  being  only  five  weeks  at  the  Sunday  school. 
Also,  of  a  boy  of  twelve,  who  heard  Dr.  Chalmers  preach,  and 
came,  at  the  close  of  the  service,  and  said  he  had  nothing  to 
give,  but  he  would  give  himself  to  Christ.  He  did  so,  and  has 
been  the  means  in  our  country  of  establishing  many  Sabbath- 
schools,  with  tens  of  thousands  of  scholars,  and  out  of  them 
have  grown  as  many  as  thirty-eight  churches,  in  which  are 
many  precious  souls  saved  and  happy,  all  through  this  boy 
coming  to  Christ  and  giving  himself  to  Him. 

Dr.  Thomson  said  :  I  should  consider  it  a  very  superflu- 
ous work  to  say  anything  of  the  trustworthiness  of  these  excel- 
lent men.  They  have  come  among  us  not  as  unknown  adven- 
turers without  "  letters  of  commendation,"  but  as  long-tried  and 
honored  laborers  in  the  fields  of  evangelism  in  their  own 
country,  and  more  recently  in  Newcastle  and  other  towns  in  the 
north  of  England,  where  there  appears  to  have  been  a  pente- 
costal  blessing  in  which  every  denomination  of  Christians  has 
shared.  And  the  ministers,  and  ciders,  and  deacons  of  our 
different  churches  that  have  gathered  around  ihem  every  even- 
ing, and  shared  with  them  in  their  blessed  work,  prove  the 
confidence  in  which  they  are  held  by  those  in  whom  the  Christian 
people  of  Edinburgh  are  accustomed  to  place  confidence. 

The  service  of  song  conducted  by  Mr.  Sankey,  in  which 
music  is  used  as  the  handmaid  of  a  Gospel  ministry,  has 
already  been  described  in  your  columns.  I  have  never  found 
it  objected  to  except  by  those  who  have  not  witnessed  it. 
Those  who  have  come  and  heard,  have  departed  with  their 
prejudices  vanquished  and  their  hearts  impressed.  We  might 
ijuoic,  in  commendation  of  this  somewhat  novel  manner  of 
preaching  the  Gospel,  the  words  of  good  George  Herbert : 

"  A  verse  may  win  him  who  the  Gospel  flies, 
And  luru  dtlii^ht  into  a  sacrifice." 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLANT>. 


83 


There  is  nothing  of  novelty  in  the  doctrine  which  Mr. 
Moody  prochim?;.  It  is  the  old  Gospel — old,  yet  always  fresh 
and  young,  (00,  as  the  living  fountain  or  the  morning  sun — in 
which  the  substitution  of  Christ  is  placed  in  the  centre  and  pre- 
sented with  admirable  distinctness  and  decision.  It  is  spoken 
with  impressive  directness,  not  as  by  a  man  half  convinced  and 
who  seems  always  to  feel  that  a  skeptic  is  looking  over  his 
shoulder,  but  with  a  deep  conviction  of  the  truth  of  what  he 
says,  as  if,  like  our  own  Andrew  Fuller,  he  could  ''  venture  his 
eternity  on  it,"  and  with  a  tremendous  earnestness,  as  if  he  felt 
that  "  if  he  did  not  speak  the  very  stones  would  cry  out.''  The 
illustrations  and  anecdotes,  drawn  principally  from  his  strangely- 
raricd  life,  are  so  wisely  chosen,  so  graphically  told,  and  so 
well  applied  as  never  to  fail  in  hiiting  the  mark. 

I  wish  once  more  to  call  attention  to  one  essential  feature 
in  the  action  of  these  good  men — the  daily  noon-day  meeting 
for  prayer.  It  began  some  weeks  ago  in  an  upper  room  in 
Queen  Street  Hall.  That  was  filled  after  a  few  days.  Next  it 
was  transferred  to  Queen  Street  Hall,  which  is  capable  of  hold- 
ing 1,200  persons.  It  was  not  long  ere  this  became  over- 
crowded, and  now  there  are  full  meetings  every  day  in  the  Free 
Assembly  Hall,  which  is  capable  of  holding  some  hundreds 
more.  It  is  a  fact  with  a  meaning  in  it,  that  simultaneously 
with  the  increase  in  the  noon-day  meeting  for  prayer  has  been 
the  increase  in  attendance  in  Broughton  Place  Church  at  the 
evening  addresses,  and  also  in  the  number  of  inquirers  after- 
wards. Before  the  end  of  last  week  every  inch  of  standing- 
ground  in  our  large  place  of  worship  was  occupied  with  eager 
listeners,  and  hundreds  were  obliged  to  depart  without  being 
able  to  obtain  so  much  as  a  sight  of  the  speaker.  The  number 
of  inquirers  gradually  rose  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  per  night, 
iand  on  Monday  evening  this  week,  when  the  awakened  and 
those  who  professed  to  have  undergone  the  "  great  change  " 
were  gathered  together  in  our  church  hall,  to  be  addressed  by 
Mr.  Moody  no  other  persons  being  admitted,  there  were  nearly 
three  hundred  present,  and  even  these  were  only  a  part  of  the 
fruits  of  one  week.     I  wish  to  give  promi nonce  to  the  state- 


8^  MOODV    AND    SANKEY    IN   GREAT    BRITAIN. 

menl  llirit  the  persons  who  conversed  with  the  perplexed  and  in- 
quiring were  ministers,  elders,  and  deacons,  and  qualified  pri- 
vate members  of  our  various  churches  ;  and  also  Christian 
matrons  and  Bible-women,  as  far  as  their  valuable  services 
could  be  secured. 

And  now,  at  the  close  of  the  week  of  special  services  in 
Broughton  Place  Church,  I  wish  to  repeat  the  statement  in  your 
paper  which  I  made  on  Monday  in  the  Assembly  Hall,  that 
there  is  no  week  in  my  lengthened  ministry  upon  which  I  look 
back  with  such  grateful  joy.  I  would  not  for  the  wealth  of  a 
world  have  the  recollection  of  what  I  have  seen  and  heard  during 
the  past  week  blotted  out  from  my  memory.  When  Howe  was 
Chaplain  to  Cromwell  at  Whitehall,  he  became  weary  of  th^^*. 
turmoil  and  pomp  of  the  palace,  and  wrote  to  his  "  dear  and 
honored  brother,"  Richard  Baxter,  telling  him  how  much  he 
longed  to  be  back  again  to  his  beloved  work  at  Torrington. 
**  [  have  devoted  myself,"  he  said,  "  to  serve  God  in  the  work 
of  the  ministry,  and  how  can  I  want  the  pleasure  of  hearing 
their  cryings  and  complaints  who  have  come  to  me  under  con- 
victions." I  have  shared  with  many  beloved  brethren  during 
the  past  week  in  this  sacred  pleasure,  and  it  is  like  eating  of 
angels'  bread,  first  to  hear  the  cry  of  conviction,  and  yet  more  to 
hear  at  length  the  utterance  of  the  joy  of  reconciliation  and  peace  ! 

I  was  much  struck  by  the  variety  among  the  inquirers. 
There  were  present  from  the  old  man  of  seventy-five  to  the 
youth  of  eleven,  soldiers  from  the  Castle,  students  from  the  Uni- 
versity, the  backsliding,  the  intemperate,  the  skeptical,  the  rich 
and  the  poor,  the  educated  and  the  uneducated ;  and  in  how 
many  instances  were  the  wounded  healed  and  the  burdened 
released  1 

It  may  be  encouraging  to  Christian  parents  and  teachers  to 
be  told  that  very  much  of  this  marvellous  blessing,  when  once 
"begun  in  a  house,  has  spread  through  the  whole  family,  and 
those  who  already  had  the  knowledge  of  divine  truth  in  their 
minds  by  early  Christian  education,  formed  by  far  the  largest 
proportion  of  llie  converts.  The  seed  was  there  sleeping  in  the 
soil,  which  the  influence  from  above  quickened  into  life. 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  85 

There  was  a  considerable  number  of  skeptics  amonj;  the 
inquirers,  but  their  speculative  doubts  and  difficulties  very 
soon  became  of  no  account  when  they  came  to  have  a  propjT 
view  of  their  sins.  Some  have  already  come  to  tell  me  of 
their  renunciation  of  unbelief,  and  their  discipleship  to  Christ. 
One  has  publicly  announced  that  he  can  no  longer  live  in  the 
ice-house  of  cold  negations,  and  has  asked  Mr.  Moody  to  pub- 
lish the  address  which  brought  light  to  his  heart,  and  to  circu- 
late it  far  and  wide  over  the  land. 

I  witnessed  no  excesses  in  the  inquiry  rooms,  but  there  was 
often  deep  and  melting  solemnity,  sometimes  the  sob  of  sorrow, 
and  the  whispered  prayer  of  contrition  or  gratitude.  There 
must,  however,  occur  at  times  imprudent  things  and  excesses 
in  connection  with  even  the  best  works  that  have  imperfect 
though  good  men  employed  about  them.  But  cold  criticism 
that  is  in  search  of  faults,  or  ultra-prudence  that  attempts  noth- 
ing from  fear  of  making  mistakes,  is  not  the  temper  in  which  10 
regard  such  events.  I  would  not  dare  to  take  either  of  these 
positions,  "  lest  haply  I  should  be  found  to  be  fighting  against 
God." 

I  have  already  expressed  my  high  appreciation  of  Mr. 
Moody's  manner  of  addressing.  If  some  think  that  it  wants 
the  polished  elegance  of  certain  of  our  home  orators,  it  has 
qualities  that  are  far  more  valuable  ;  and  even  were  it  otherwise, 
the  great  thing  is  to  have  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  clearly 
and  earnestly  preached  to  the  multitudes  who  are  crowding 
every  night  to  listen  to  him.  When  the  year  of  jubilee  came  in 
ancient  times  among  the  Jews,  I  suspect  the  weary  bond-slave 
or  the  poor  debtor  cared  little  whether  it  was  proclaimed  to 
him  with  silver  trumpets  or  rams'  horns,  if  he  could  only  be 
assured  that  he  was  free. 

The  following  paper  was  issued,  and  sent  to  every  denomi- 
nation in  Scotland  : 

"Edinburgh  is  now  enjoying  signal  manifestations  of  grace. 
Many  of  the  Lord's  people  are  not  surprised  at  this.  In 
October  and  November  last,  they  met  from  time  to  time  to 
pray    for   it.     They    hoped  that  they  might  hav£  a  visit  from 


S6  MOOrV  AND  SANKEY  IX  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  of  America,  but  they  very  earnestly 
besought  the  Lord  that  He  would  deliver  them  from  depending 
upon  them,  or  on  any  instrumentality,  and  that  He  himself 
would  come  with  them,  or  come  before  them.  He  has  gra- 
ciously answered  that  prayer,  and  His  own  presence  is  now 
wonderfully  manifested,  and  is  felt  to  be  among  them.  God  is 
so  alTecling  the  hearts  of  men,  that  the  Free  Church  Assembly 
Hall,  the  largest  public  building  in  Edinburgh,  is  crowded  every 
day  at  noon  with  a  meeting  for  prayer  ;  and  that  building,  along 
with  the  Established  Church  Assembly  Hall,  overflows  every 
evening  when  the  Gospel  is  preached.  But  the  numbers  that 
attend  are  not  the  most  remarkable  feature.  It  is  the  presence 
and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  solemn  awe,  the  prayer- 
ful, believing,  expectant  spirit,  the  anxious  inquiry  of  unsaved 
souls,  and  the  longing  of  believers  to  grow  more  like  Christ, — 
their  hungering  and  thirsting  after  holiness.  The  hall  of  the 
Tolbooth  Church,  and  the  Free  High  Church  are  nightly 
attended  by  anxious  inquirers.  All  denominational  and  social 
distinctions  are  entirely  merged.     All  this  is  of  the  God  of  Grace. 

"  Another  proof  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  presence  is,  that  a 
desire  has  been  felt  and  expressed  in  these  meetings,  that  all 
Scotland  should  share  the  blessing  that  the  capital  is  now 
enjoying. 

"It  is  iriipossible  that  our  beloved  friends  from  America 
should  visit  every  place,  or  even  all  those  to  which  they  have 
been  urged  to  go.  But  this  is  not  necessary.  The  Lord  is 
willing  Himself  to  go  wherever  He  is  truly  invited.  He  is 
wailing.  The  Lord's  people  in  Edinburgh,  therefore,  would 
affectionately  entreat  all  their  brethren  throughout  the  land  to 
be  importunate  in  invoking  Him  to  come  to  them,  and  dismiss 
all  doubt  as  to  His  being  willing  to  do  so. 

"I'he  week  of  prayer,  from  4th  to  iilh  January  next,  atTords 
a  favorable  opportunity  for  combined  action.  In  every  town 
and  liauilet  let  there  be  a  daily  meeting  for  prayer  during  that 
week,  and  also  as  often  as  may  be  before  it.  In  Edinburgh  the 
hour  is  from  12  to  i,  and  where  the  same  hour  suits  other 
places,  it  would  be  pleasing  to  meet  together  in   faith  at  the 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  87 

tl)r()ne  of  grace.  But  let  the  prayers  not  be  formal,  unbelieving, 
uncxpecting,  but  short,  fervent,  earnest  entreaties,  mingled  with 
abounding  praise  and  frequent  short  exhortations  ;  and  let  them 
embrace  the  whole  world,  that  God's  way  may  be  known  upon 
earth.  His  saving  health  among  all  nations.  If  the  country  will 
thus  fall  on  their  knees,  the  God  who  has  filled  our  national 
history  with  the  wonders  of  His  love,  will  come  again  and  sur- 
prise even  the  strongest  believers  by  the  unprecedented  tokens 
of  His  grace.  *  Call  unto  me  and  I  will  answer  thee  and  sliow 
thee  great  and  mighty  things  which  thou  knowest  not.'  " 

This  was  signed  by  thirty-eight  ministers  of  all  denom- 
inations. 

Mr.  Moody  addressed  some  special  meetings  in  Free 
Assembly  Hall. 

On  Sabbath  morning,  December  14,  he  addressed  the 
young  men  of  the  Sabbath-morning  Fellowship  Union. 

On  Friday,  December  19,  he  preached  to  young  men  on 
being  born  again. 

On  Sabbath  morning,  December  21,  he  addressed  Sabbath- 
school  teachers. 

The  same  evening  he  preached  to  the  students  of  Edinburgh 
University  and  the  New  College,  on  "  There  is  no  dilTcrence." 
This  was  one  of  the  most  magnificent  sights  I  have  ever  wit- 
nessed. On  the  platform  with  him  were  numbers  of  professors 
of  both  colleges,  and  I  believe,  the  majority  of  the  students. 
The  hall  was  densely  crowded,  and  I  question  whether  he  ever 
addressed  a  more  intelligent  audience,  or  one  that  gave  him  more 
profouna  >rd  riveted  attention.  Had  they  not  had  confidence 
in  him,  and  felt  his  power,  and,  we  trust,  the  higher  power  of 
God's  Spirit  and  truth,  they  would  not  have  sat  for  more  than 
two  hours  with  such  quietness.  He  commanded  that  immense 
meeting  of  about  two  thousand  men,  as  no  man  on  that  plat- 
form, save  Dr.  Duff,  could  have  done.  The  living  power  of 
God's  Holy  Spirit  was  felt  giving  the  word,  and  laying  convic- 
tion on  the  conscience.  The  Gospel  given  at  the  end  was  most 
touchingly  illustrated,  and  the  very  appropriate  hymn  sung  by 
Mr.  SaDkey,  "  I  am  sweeping  through  the  gates,*  gave  a  spirit- 


88  MOODY    AND    SAN  KEY    IN    GREAT   BRITAIN. 

ual  finish  to  the  whole  that  had  been  spoken.  It  was  nn  oppor- 
tunity such  as  no  man  ever  before  enjoyed  here  ;  and  we  can- 
not doubt  but  that  God  has  given  and  used  it  for  the  conversion 
of  souls  and  the  glory  of  Christ. 

At  half-past  eight  o'clock,  December  29,  there  was  a  meet- 
ing held  in  the  Corn  Exchange,  Grassmarket,  which  was  at 
tended  by  about  3,000  persons  belonging  to  the  poorer  classes 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Morgan  opened  this  meeting  with  prayer. 

Mr.  Moody  began  his  address  by  telling  the  well-known 
story  about  Rowland  Hill  and  Lady  Erskine.  Her  ladyship 
was  driving  past  a  crowd  of  people  to  whom  Hill  was  preachmg. 
She  asked  who  the  preacher  was,  and,  on  being  informed,  told 
her  coachman  to  drive  nearer.  Rowland  Hill,  seeing  her  ap- 
proach, asked  who  she  was,  and  when  he  was  told,  he  said 
there  was  a  soul  there  for  sale.  Who  would  bid,  he  asked,  for 
Lady  Erskine's  soul?  There  was  Satan's  offer.  He  would  give 
pleasure,  honor,  position,  and,  in  fact,  the  whole  world.  There 
was  also,  he  said,  the  offer  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  would  give 
pardon,  peace,  joy,  rest,  and  at  last  heaven  and  glory.  He  then 
asked  Lady  Erskine  which  of  these  bids  she  would  accept. 
Ordering  her  coachman  to  open  her  carriage-door,  she  pressed 
her  way  through  the  crowd  to  where  the  preacher  was,  and  said, 
•Lord  Jesus,  I  give  my  soul  to  Thee  ;  accept  of  it." 

Mr.  Moody  went  on  to  urge  on  his  hearers  to  give  them- 
selves there  and  then  to  the  same  Saviour  who  was  that  day 
preached  in  the  hearing  of  Lady  Erskine,  and  accepted  by  her. 
He  brought  out  the  freeness  of  the  gospel  offer,  and  the  im- 
portance of  immediately  closing  with  it.  He  mentioned  several 
instances  of  conversion — one  of  them  concerning  a  soldier,  who 
had  been  at  the  meeting  of  the  previous  night  in  that  same  hall, 
and  who  had  afterward  gone  up  to  the  Assembly  Hall,  had 
received  Christ  there,  and  was  now  professing  himself  a  Chris- 
tian man. 

Mr.  Sankey  sang  several  of  his  hymns — "  The  Lifeboat," 
"Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by,"  and  "  The  Prodigal  Child,'' 
being  among  ihcm. 

The  mecfing  on  Sunday  night,  Dec.  2S,  se^ms  to  have  been 


THE   REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  89 

the  most  extraordinary  ot  all  these  meetings.  Though  there 
were  about  5,000  persons  presenf,  the  most  perfect  order  was 
observed,  and  the  deepest  interest  manifested  in  the  proceedings. 
After  this  meeting  was  over,  hundreds  pressed  up  to  the  Free 
Assembly  Hall,  and  when  the  question  was  put  if  there  were 
any  there  anxious  about  their  souls  and  desiring  to  be  saved, 
the  whole  body  rose  to  their  feet  in  answer  to  the  question. 
The  interest  shown  was  such  as  many  of  those  present  had 
never  before  seen  in  the  course  of  a  long  ministry  among  the 
people.  Mr.  Moody  expressed  himself  as  more  impressed  by  it 
than  he  had  been  by  anything  he  had  ever  before  seen. 

Mr.  Moody  preached  on  Sabbath  forenoon  in  Free  St. 
George's  Church,  his  subject  being,  "  What  Christ  has  done  for 
man."  This  he  treated  very  generally.  In  the  afternoon 
Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  conducted  evangelistic  services  in 
the  Free  Assembly  Hall  and  the  Free  High  Church  at  five 
o'clock,  and  in  the  Established  Assembly  Hall  and  Free  St. 
John's  Church  at  six  o'clock — these  meetings  being  for  females 
only.  The  Jubilee  Singers  sang  at  each  of  these  meetings. 
There  was  an  immense  meeting  in  the  Corn  Exchange,  Grass- 
market,  at  seven  o'clock.  The  great  hall  was  filled  with  people, 
who  stood  closely  packed  together  in  every  part  of  it.  There 
must  have  been  between  6,000  and  7,000  persons  present. 
Short  addresses  were  delivered  by  several  ministers  and  laymen, 
frequent  prayer  engaged  in,  and  a  great  number  of  hymns  sung 
by  Mr.  Sankey  and  the  Jubilee  Singers.  These  hymns  had 
each  of  them  a  bearing  on  the  thoughts  or  sentiments  that 
formed  the  themes  of  the  addresses  by  which  they  were  pre- 
ceded. There  was  the  most  perfect  quiet  observed  by  the  vast 
assemblage,  and  both  addresses  and  hymns  were  listened  to 
with  the  utmost  attention. 

In  his  address  Mr.  Moody  pointed  out  that  though  it  was 
because  of  Adam's  sin  man  was  condemned,  it  was  not  because 
of  it  that  any  one  would  be  lost,  but  because  they  neglected  to 
lay  hold  of  the  remedy. 

Mr.  Moody  preached  to  about  fifteen  ihousafid  this  first 
Lord's-day  of  1874,  at  se\en  different  times.     His  passion  for 


90  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

snving  souls  is  self-consuming.  Let  all  Christians  pray  that  he 
may  be  upheld  by  God,  in  body  and  soul,  and  blessed  more 
and  more. 

Tens  of  thousands  of  men,  women,  and  children  of  all 
classes  of  the  community  have  crowded  the  halls  and  churches 
where  they  have  preached  and  sung  of  Christ  and  the  Gospel. 

Multitudes  of  men  assembled  in  the  Corn  Exchange,  and 
multitudes  of  women  in  the  Assembly  Halls  and  adjoining 
churches  on  the  Lord's  day  to  hear  words  whereby  they  might 
be  saved  ;  and  on  the  week  days  the  daily  prayer-meeting,  noon, 
and  night,  was  crowded  with  eager  anxious  throngs  of  Christians 
or  anxious  ones  ;  while  in  the  Newington  U.  P.  Church  and  the 
Canongate  Parish  Church,  fully  three  thousand  came  together 
nightly  to  listen  to  the  singing  and  preaching  of  the  glorious 
Gospel  of  Christ. 

Bible  lectures  have  been  held  in  the  Free  Assembly  Hall, 
Viewforth  Church,  West  Coates  Church,  and  Free  St.  Mary's, 
and  thereby  have  received  clearer  light  on  the  Gospel,  more 
stable  standing  on  the  sure  foundation,  and  blessed  freedom 
from  bondage. 

Mr.  Moody's  excellent  plan  of  making  the  Bible  speak  for 
itself  by  quoting  text  after  text  and  commenting  on  them,  and 
enforcing  them  by  striking  illustrations,  has  been  of  eminent 
use  among  Christians  who  had  life  but  no  liberty.  Christ  has 
said  through  him  to  many  a  young  and  groaning  one,  "  Loose 
him,  and  let  him  go." 

Mr.  Moody's  clear  preaching  of  grace  reigning  through 
righteousness  and  salvation  by  grace  without  the  works  of  the 
law,  and  the  believer's  place  in  Christ  where  there  is  now  no 
condemnation,  and  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  us,  because 
we  are  not  under  law,  but  under  grace,  is  fitted  to  give  imme- 
diate relief  to  burdened,  unclear,  and  legal  Christians,  of  whom 
rre  have  crowds. 

His  mind  has  evidently  been  in  contact  with  clear  Scrip- 
ture teachings,  such  as  one  seldom  meets  with  in  our  day :  for 
he  has  learned  to  draw  his  words  of  grace  and  truth  from  the 
clear  crystal    river   of  divine    Revelation,  and    not   from   the 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  9I 

muddy  streams  of  human  theology  ;  and  if  we,  ministers  of 
Christ,  are  still  to  get  a  hearing  from  the  people  who  have  hung 
as  if  spell-bound  on  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Moody,  we  must  preach 
in  the  same  simple,  scriptural,  loving,  and  direct  manner.  He 
has  lifted  up  a  crucified  and  glorified  Christ,  honored  the  Holy 
Ghost  by  believing  in  His  constant  presence  and  grace,  and 
his  Gospel  has  been  made  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to 
unnumbered  souls.  We  calculate  that  as  many  as  30,000  have 
listened  to  his  beseeching  voice. 

The  work  of  grace  is  no  doubt  deep,  wide-spread,  and  ex- 
traordinary, as  compared  with  the  state  of  things  spiritually 
previous  to  the  coming  of  those  earnest  men  ;  but  it  is  only  the 
ordinary  and  normal  result  of  prayer  and  preaching,  which  the 
model  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  warrants  us  in  expecting 
when  all  the  disciples  of  Christ  are  continuing  with  one  accord 
in  prayer  and  supplications,  and  in  dependence  in  the  Holy 
Ghost  are  bending  all  their  energies  to  the  one  work  of  getting 
the  Christ  of  God  magnified  by  the  conversion  of  perishing 
souls.  When  we  consider  that  the  great  bulk  of  the  ministers 
and  Christian  people  of  Edinburgh  have  been  doing  almost 
nothing  else  for  nearly  two  months  but  giving  themselves  to 
receive  blessing,  and  to  co-operate  with  our  excellent  friends  to 
make  the  Gospel  triumphant  in  the  city  ;  and  when  we  consider 
that  there  has  been  this  concerted,  continued,  and  concentrated 
effort  towards  this  one  thing,  we  have  hardly  seen  so  much  fruit 
as  we  might  reasonably  have  expected  ;  and  we  are  very  sure 
if  there  had  not  been  much  grieving  and  quenching  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God  among  us  in  connection  with  this  work,  both  se- 
cretly and  openly,  He  would  have  wrought  with  mightier  power, 
and  the  harvest  of  souls  would  have  been  much  more  abundant. 

There  has  never  been,  as  in  other  days,  thousands  pentecos- 
tally  smitten  simultaneously:  whole  meetings  arrested  as  in  the 
years  of  the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High  '*n  times  past,  and 
made  to  stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of  God.  Might  the 
Lord  ro^  have  given  such  power  as  would  have  left  hundreds, 
instead  of  tens,  anxiously  mquiring  what  must  we  do,  if  there 
had  been  an  entire  exclusion  of  "  the  flesh  "  and  a  total  self- 


f)2  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

surrender  on  the  part  of  Christians,  more  regard  for  the  glory 
of  Christ,  less  grieving  and  quenching  and  more  lionoring  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  ? 

We  do  not  quite  sympathize  with  some  things  which  have 
been  said  about  Mr.  Moody's  preaching,  and  especially  that  he 
is  not  eloquent.  What,  we  would  ask,  makes  the  meetings  flat 
when  he  is  absent  but  the  want  of  a  quality  he  possesses  ?  and 
what  makes  them  full  of  life  and  spiritual  emotion  when  he  is 
present,  but  just  the  superior  divine  eloquence  which  flows  in 
his  burning  words,  as  if  an  electric  current  were  passing  through 
every  heart } 

He  is  the  most  powerful  speaker — the  most  eloquent 
preacher — who  most  fully  carries  an  audience  with  him  and 
produces  the  greatest  results  ;  and  if  Mr.  Moody  is  judged  by 
such  a  rule,  he  is  one  of  the  most  eloquent  of  living  men,  for 
none  of  us  here  who  are  ministers  feel  the  least  desire  to  speak 
if  he  is  present,  for  with  all  our  university  training  we  acknowl- 
edge his  superior  power  as  a  heaven-commissioned  evangelist. 
He  has  the  all-powerful  eloquence  of  a  man  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  of  faith,  and  fired  with  indomitable  zeal  for  the  glory 
of  Christ  and  the  salvation  of  souls.  He  may  be  devoid  of  rhet- 
oric (and  that,  we  suppose,  is  meant),  and  he  may  use  his  free- 
dom in  extemporizing  grammar  to  suit  himself,  but  withal 
Moocly  is  the  most  eloquent,  as  he  is  the  most  successful 
preacher  among  us.  The  Lord  be  praised  for  giving  such  gifts 
to  men,  and  for  the  thousands  of  souls  He  has  converted  by 
him  in  this  city,  or  set  into  the  liberty  of  grace  by  a  fuller 
knowledge  of  Christ  and  His  finished  work. 

What  masses  of  young  people  from  the  schools  crowded  the 
n)eetings  during  the  holidays !  And  so  great  has  been  the  at- 
traction of  the  singing  of  the  one  and  the  eloquence  of  the 
other,  that  hundreds  of  young  persons,  especially  of  the  higher 
classes,  who  were  formerly  accustomed  to  go  to  the  theatre, 
opera,  and  pantomime,  gave  them  up  deliberately,  and  from 
choice  and  the  force  of  conviction  attended  the  gospel  and 
prayer-meetings.  Men  who  can  draw  away  our  educated  chil- 
dren by  the  hundred  in  this  city  that  boasts  of  iti;  education,  from 


THE   REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLANTX  g^ 

these  haunts  of  pleasure  and  amusement,  to  hear  of  Clirist  in 
preaching  and  songs,  and  embrace  Him  as  their  Saviour,  and 
cUng  to  them  as  their  friends,  have  that  spiritual  education 
which  ennobles  the  character,  implants  delicate  feelings,  gener- 
ous sentiments,  tender  emotions,  and  gracious  affections,  which 
the  young  very  quickly  discover  and  reciprocate. 

But  we  have  no  doubt  that  a  very  great  part  of  Mr.  Moody's 
superiority  over  most  ministers  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel, 
arises  from  his  superior  knowledge  and  grasp  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures. 

Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey's  principle  for  gospel  work  is 
the  recognition  of  the  divine  unity  of  the  one  body  of  Christ  ; 
and  accordingly  wherever  they  go  they  say,  in  effect,  A  truce  to 
all  sectarianism  that  the  Lord  alone  may  be  exalted  :  let  all 
denominations  for  the  time  being  be  obliterated  and  forgotten, 
and  let  us  bring  our  united  Christian  effort  to  bear  upon  the 
one  .great  w^ork  of  saving  perishing  souls.  It  is  a  charming 
sight  to  look  back  over  the  past  eight  weeks  and  think  of  men 
who,  it  appeared,  were  for  all  time  to  come  in  religious  antag- 
onism because  of  their  controversial  differences  on  the  Union 
question,  sitting  side  by  side  on  the  same  platform  lovingly 
co-operating  with  those  American  brethren  and  with  one  another 
for  the  conversion  of  souls.  All  old  things  seemed  to  have 
passed  away,  and  all  things  had  become  new,  and  all  rejoiced 
together  in  the  blessing  which  has  been  so  richly  vouchsafed  by 
the  God  of  all  grace. 

There  has  been  such  a  commingling  of  ministers  and  Chris- 
tians of  all  the  churches — all  sectarian  thoughts  and  feelings 
being  buried — as  has  never  been  witnessed  in  this  city  since 
the  first  breaking  up  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  more  than  140 
years  ago.  What  all  the  ministers  and  people  of  Scotland  were 
unable  to  achieve — a  union  of  Christians  on  a  doctrinal  basis — 
God  has  effected,  as  it  were  at  once,  on  the  basis  of  the  inner 
life  by  the  singing  of  a  few  simple  hymns  and  the  simple  preach- 
ing of  tne  gospel  : — for  as  the  unity  of  the  nation  was  secured 
by  the  one  purpose  to  make  David  king  over  all  Israel  :  "All 
these  'nen  of  war  that  could  keep  rank  came  with  a  perfect 


94  BIOODY    AND    SAN'KEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

heart  to  Hebron,  to  make  David  king  over  all  Israel  ;  and  all 
the  rest  also  of  Israel  were  of  one  heart  to  make  David  king, 
and  there  was  great  joy  in  Israel  '"(i  Chron.  xii.  38)  ;  so  the  one 
purpose  to  have  the  Lord  Jesus  exalted  and  made  supreme,  and 
His  glory  in  the  triumph  of  His  gospel  and  the  salvation  of 
sinners  made  manifest,  has  united  the  ministers  and  Christian 
people  of  every  name  in  the  metropolis  of  Scotland  :  "  and  there 
was  great  joy  in  that  city"  (Acts  viii.  8).  "Be  it  known  unto 
you  all,  that  by  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  ye  cru- 
cified, whom  God  raised  from  the  dead,  even  by  Him  "  hath 
been  "  shed  forth  this  which  ye  now  see  and  hear."  "  This  was 
the  stone  which  was  set  at  nought  of  you  builders,  which  is 
become  the  Head  of  the  Corner.  Neither  is  there  salvation 
in  any  other,  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved"  (Acts  iv.  10-12). 
*'This  is  the  Lord's  doing;  it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes.     This 

IS    THE    DAY    WHICH    THE    LORD    HATH  MADE.       We  Will  bc  glad 

and  rejoice  in  it"  (Ps.  viii.  23,  24). 

Mr.  Moody  is  overpoweringly  in  earnest,  and  he  brings  in  the 
direct,  straightforward,  decided  methods  of  a  thorough -going, 
energetic  man  of  business  into  his  addresses,  in  conducting 
meetings,  and  his  dealing  with  souls,  and,  as  a  preacher  gene- 
rally stamps  his  own  image  upon  his  converts,  we  may  hope  to 
see  a  brood  of  decided  Christian  witnesses  and  testifiers  arising 
out  of  this  time  of  awakening,  that  will  let  it  be  known  that  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  the  uppermost  purpose  in  their 
hearts. 

This  witness-bearing  has  already  begun  in  colleges  and 
schools,  in  families  and  work-rooms,  in  drawing-rooms  and 
kitchens.  Thcr»are  discussions  going  on  everywhere  regarding 
both  the  men  and  the  movement.  In  ladies'  schools  there  are 
young  converts  testifying  for  Jesus,  and  boldly  confessing  Him 
as  their  Saviour  ;  evening  parties,  through  the  influence  of  the 
young  believers  in  the  household,  are  being  converted  into 
Christian  assemblies  to  talk  over  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Moody, 
and  to  sing  in  concerted  worship  the  hymns  and  solos  which 
have  been  introduced  by  the  inimitable  singing  of  Mr.  Sankcy. 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND. 


95 


These  two  quiet  and  humble  Americans  have  all  but  turned 
society  in  Edinburgh  upside  down,  and  by  the  grace  of  God, 
have  given  its  citizens  the  merriest  Christmas  and  the  happiest 
New  Year  that  they  have  ever  enjoyed,  by  gathering  them 
around  the  Lord  Jesus.  It  seems  as  if  a  voice  from  heaven  had 
been  saying,  "  O  clap  your  hands,  all  ye  people  :  shout  unto 
God  with  the  voice  of  triumph.  God  is  gone  up  with  a  shout 
the  Lord  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet.  Sing  praises  to  God, 
sing  praises  ;  sing  praises  to  our  King,  sing  praises  ;  sing  ye 
praises  with  understanding." 

WHAT   GOOD    HAVE    MESSRS.    MOODY   AND    SANKEY   DONE    IN 
EDINBURGH  ? 

This  is  a  question  which,  in  its  inward  aspect,  can  be 
answered  only  by  Rim  who  knows  the  hearts  of  men ;  but  that 
which  is  visible  and  apparent  can  be  set  down  in  writing. 

For  one  thing,  Mr.  Moody  has  given  the  Bible  its  duo 
place  of  prominence,  and  has  made  it  to  be  looked  upon  as  the 
most  interesting  book  in  the  world.  This  is  honoring  the  Holy 
Ghost  more  than  all  the  prayers  for  His  outpouring  that  have 
been  offered  ;  for  it  is  getting  into  the  mind  of  God  as  the 
Psalmist  got,  when  he  said,  "Thou  hast  magnified  Thy  word 
above  all  Thy  name."  His  addresses  on  such  themes  as 
"  How  to  study  the  Holy  Scriptures,"  and  "  The  Scriptures 
cannot  be  broken  ;  "  his  own  Bible  lectures,  which  were  so  full 
of  Scripture,  and  helpful  to  hundreds  of  Christians ;  his  con- 
stant reference  to  the  Bible,  and  quotations  from  it  in  his 
preaching;  his  moving  about  among  the  anxious  with  the  open 
Bible  in  his  hands,  that  he  might  get  them  to  rest  their  souls 
on  the  "  true  sayings  of  God  ;  "  and  his  earnest  exhortations  to 
young  Christians  to  read  the  Word,  and  to  older  and  well- 
taught  Christians  to  get  up  "  Bible  readings,"  and  invite  young 
Christians  to  come  to  them,  that  they  might  be  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  mind  of  Christ,  all  showed  how  much  in 
earnest  he  is  to  f;ive  due  prominence  to  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Mr.  Moody  has  also  given  us  a  thorough  specimen  of  good 


96  MOODY    AXD    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Gospel  preaching,  both  as  to  matter  and  manner  of  communica- 
tion. It  is  not  a  mixture  of  law  and  Gospel :  his  Gospel  is  "  the 
Gcspel  of  the  grace  of  God,"  "  without  the  works  of  the  law," 
the  "  Gospel  of  God  "  coming  in  righteously  and  saving  the  lost, 
not  by  a  mere  judicial  manipulation  and  theoretically,  but  by 
grace,  power,  and  life  coming  in  when  men  were  dead,  so  that  we 
have  not  only  sins  blotted  out  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  but  deliv- 
erance from  sin  in  the  nature  by  death  and  resurrection,  and 
life  beyond  death,  so  that  a  risen  Christ  is  before  us,  and  we  in 
Him,  when  it  is  said,  "  There  is  therefore,  now  no  condemna- 
tion to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  There  is  "justifica- 
tion of  life  ^'  in  his  preaching,  immediately  that  we  are  "justified 
by  His  blood:' 

He  has  also  distinguished  with  much  decision  and  precision 
between  the  Adam  nature  and  the  new  creation  in  Christ,  and 
made  it  as  clear  as  noon-day  that  salvation  is  not  the  mere  set- 
ting right  of  man's  existing  faculties,  but  the  impartation  of  new 
life  in  Christ,  a  new  nature,  a  new  creation,  so  that  there  exist 
two  utterly  opposed  natures  in  the  one  responsible  Christian 
man,  and  that  "  these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other  :  "  and 
the  knowledge  of  this  gives  young  Christians  immense  relief, 
and  a  solid  foundation  for  holiness  at  the  very  commencement 
of  their  Christian  course.  New  creation  in  Christ — not  the 
mending  of  the  old  creation — is  Mr.  Moody's  idea  of  Chris- 
lianity:  and  it  is  the  divine  reality  which  many  are  now  en- 
joying. 

This  also  leads  to  the  Pauline  theory  of  holiness,  as  preach- 
ed by  him.  He  has  imbibed  very  fully  the  theology  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  on  this  point,  and  insisted  with  much 
earnestness  that  Scripture  has  it  that  Christians  are  not  under 
the  law  in  any  shape  or  form,  and  that  this  is  essential  to  holi- 
ness : — "  For  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you  ;  for  ye  are 
not  under  law,  but  under  grace  "  (Rom.  vi.  14) ;  "  But  now  we 
are  delivered  from  the  law,  that  we  should  serve  in  newness  of 
spirit  "  (Rom.  vii.).  His  doctrine  is  that  the  law  never  made  a 
bad  man  good  or  a  good  man  better,  and  that  we  are  under 
grace  for  sanctification  as  well  as  for  justification  ;  and  yet  the 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  97 

righteousness  of  the  law  is  fulfilled  in  us  who  walk  not  after  the 
flesh  (that  is,  under  law)  "but  after  the  Spirit  "  (Rom.  viii.  4). 
His  clearness  in  distin^^uishing  between  law  and  grace  has  been 
the  lever  of  life  to  many  souls. 

Our  American  brethren  have  also  been  of  great  use  in  show- 
ing us  what  may  be  accomplished  in  the  conversion  of  souls,  if 
the  heart  is  only  fully  set  upon  it,  and  there  is  a  determination 
to  have  it.  They  came  to  us  with  that  distinct  aim  and  object 
iu  view ;  and  the  Lord  gave  them  the  desires  of  their  hearts  ; 
and  as  the  result  hundreds  of  souls  have  professed  salvation. 
They  gave  themselves  to  "  this  one  thing,"  and  they  stuck  to  it, 
brushing  aside  all  other  things :  even  the  conventional  courte- 
sies of  life  were  made  short  work  of  by  Mr.  Moody  if  he  spied 
an  anxious  soul  likely  to  escape.  His  friends  might  introduce 
some  notable  stranger  at  the  close  of  a  meeting,  and  feel  rather 
annoyed  that,  instead  of  conversing  with  him  or  her,  he  darted 
off  in  a  moment  to  awakened  souls ;  but  he  made  that  his  work, 
and  everything  else  had  to  be  subordinate  to  it.  "  This  one 
thing  I  do,"  seems  to  be  his  life-molto ;  and  in  sticking  to  this 
all-absorbing  object,  he  has  read  us  a  noble  lesson  of  holy 
resoluteness  and  decision.  If  we  who  are  ministers  have  similar 
faith  and  expectancy,  and  work  like  our  American  friends  for 
the  conversion  of  souls,  the  conversion  of  souls  we  shall  have. 
Our  Lord  said  to  those  who  were  to  be  the  first  preachers  of 
His  Gospel,  "  I  have  chosen  you,  and  ordained  you,  that  ye 
should  go  and  bring  forth  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit  should 
remain  "  (John  xv.  i6) ;  and  when  they  were  endued  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  with  power,  they  did  "bring  forth  fruit"  in  the 
conversion  of  souls  (Acts  ii.  41 ;  iv.  4)  ;  and  their  fruit  remained 
(Acts  ii.  42),  and  has  done  so,  in  the  millions  of  souls  saved 
in  all  ages  down  to  the  present  day. 

Our  friends  have  been  the  means  of  rescuing  hundreds  of 
souls  in  this  city  from  impending  and  everlasting  damnation. 
Their  labors  have  been  especially  fruitful  in  the  conversion  of 
young  women  and  girls,  who  in  course  of  time  will  be  in  the 
important  position  of  wives  and  mothers  ;  and  if  the  thousand 
of  them  that  appear  at  the  young  converts'  meeting,  to  receive 


f)S  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Mr.  Moody's  Hirewell  address,  should  all  hold  out,  it  will  be  an 
unspeakable  blessing  that  has  been  conferred  by  God  on  this 
community  through  their  instrumentality. 

Persons  at  a  distance  have  wondered  at  us  having  so  many 
ladies  among  the  anxious,  and  the  question  has  repeatedly 
come  to  us,  "  Where  are  the  men  ?  Your  anxious  inquirers 
are  nearly  all  women,  as  we  read  of  them  in  your  reports."  If 
such  persons  had  been  present  on  Friday,  Jan.  i6,  and  run 
their  eyes  over  the  young  converts  in  the  Free  Assembly  Hall, 
bet^'een  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  and  counted,  as  was  done,  the 
1,150  that  were  present,  and  failed  to  find  150  of  them  men, 
they  would  no  longer  have  been  at  a  loss  to  see  why  the  greater 
proportion  of  the  cases  of  awakening  mentioned  are  women. 

But  we  believe  also  that  any  one  who  would  affirm,  from  the 
excessive  preponderance  of  women  over  men  on  Friday  at  the 
young  converts'  meeting,  that  the  movement  had  only  laid 
hold  of  women,  would  be  very  wide  of  the  truth  ;  for  although 
the  meetings  went  on  for  three  weeks  almost  without  men, 
towards  the  close  there  were  many  young  men  who  were 
brought  under  the  power  of  the  truth.  It  is  however,  well 
known  that  most  young  Scotsmen,  from  a  variety  of  influences 
and  motives,  even  though  converted,  would  rather  be  excluded 
from  the  meeting  than  face  the  ordeal  through  which  those  had 
to  pass  who  received  tickets ;  and  had  there  been  a  converts' 
meeting  for  men  to  come  to  without  any  examination  or  receiv- 
ing of  tickets,  hundreds  would  have  attended  it. 

In  a  time  of  awakening  it  is  also  well  known  that  women 
who  are  religiously  impressed  will  go  through  fire  and  water  to 
comply  with  the  wishes  of  those  who  have  been  made  useful  to 
their  souls.  They  will  do  anything  they  are  asked  to  do  ; 
hence  the  mass-meeting  of  women  on  Friday,  the  i6th.  But 
not  so  with  men — especially  Scotsmen — hence  the  absence, 
notwithstanding  that  many  are  known  to  have  been  converted. 

Before  that  meeting  was  held,  we  had  given  it  as  our  calcu- 
lation, based  on  the  facts  that  had  come  under  our  own  obser- 
vation daily  in  the  inquiry-meeting,  that  there  might  be  1,500 
souls  converted,  or  who  had  professed  to  be  converted,  believ 


THE   REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND. 


W 


ing  themselves  to  be  so.  We  are  still  of  the  same  judginent. 
and  that  very  many  more  of  them  are  men  than  that  converts' 
farewell  meeting  revealed.  Twelve  hundred  women  and  thiee 
hundred  men  and  boys  seem  to  be  the  proportion  and  sum 
total  who  have  professed  conversion.  Hundreds  of  them  may 
go  on  flourishingly,  and  bring  forth  thirty,  sixty,  and  a  hundred 
fold.  Hundreds  may  go  back,  die  out,  or  be  choked  with  the 
world,  and  many  who  have  divine  life  in  their  souls  may  col- 
lapse, and  the  work  may  have  to  be  done  over  again,  and  they 
revived  and  set  at  liberty,  because  of  the  lack  of  teaching. 
This  has  been  our  observation  of  the  results  of  past  revivals, 
having  been  in  nearly  all  that  have  taken  place  in  this  country 
for  the  last  six-and-twenty  years.  But  we  see  no  necessity  for 
this  sad  outcome  of  a  blessed  work  of  grace,  if  the  professed 
converts  were  fully  taught  in  all  the  precious  truth  of  God  with 
regard  to  their  place  in  a  risen  and  glorified  Christ,  as  Romans, 
Ephesians,  and  Colossians,  spiritually  and  competently  ex- 
pounded, would  teach  them.  Good  milk,  and  plenty  of  it, 
makes  an  infant  thrive  and  grow.  "  As  new-born  babes,  desire 
the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye  may  grow  thereby.  Grow 
in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ."  The  only  way  not  to  fall  is  to  grow,  and  growth  and 
strength  are  by  the  truth. 


lOO  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT   BRITAIN. 


CHAPTER      XIII. 

ON   TO   GLASGOW. 

Five  meetings  in  one  day,  at  Berwick-on-Twced,  drew  thou- 
Bands  together,  and  the  arrows  from  God's  quiver  pierced 
hundreds  of  hearts. 

A  few  days  in  Dundee  awakened  such  interest  that  the 
evangelists  returned  five  months  later,  when  the  enthusiasm  far 
exceeded  that  of  the  previous  visit.  Every  evening  for  a  week 
from  10,000  to  16,000  people  assembled  in  the  open  air  to 
listen  to  the  Gospel.  Hundreds  yielded  to  Christ,  and  a  mighty 
impulse  was  given  to  religion. 

On  their  leaving  Dundee,  evangelistic  services  were  held 
in  various  churches,  with  many  tokens  of  blessing.  The  number 
of  inquirers  was  very  considerable.  Many  cases  were  charac- 
terized by  deep  conviction  of  sin,  and  there  were  several  remark- 
able conversions.  Of  the  many  hundreds,  doubtless  some  were 
only  slightly  impressed,  while  others  are  bearing  about  their 
trouble  to  this  day.  For,  whatever  may  be  the  explanation, 
there  are  always  some  who  very  gradually  arrive  at  settled  trust 
and  peace  in  Christ.  As  the  result  of  the  awakening,  there  have 
been  large  additions  to  the  membership  of  the  churches — in 
some  congregations  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  upward. 
Great  care  has  been  taken  in  watching  over  the  young  Chris- 
tians, and  we  do  not  know  of  any  who  have  gone  back. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  second  visit  of  the  evangelists  to 
Dundee,  in  June,  when  great  open-air  meetings  were  held  in  the 
Jarrack  Park,  Mr.  Moody  organized  and  set  going  special  means 
and  eflbrlsfor  reaching  young  men.  With  the  aid  of  a  large  staf? 
of  earnest  Christian  men,  who  volunteered  their  services  at  the 
call  of  Mr  Moody,  the  Young  Men's  Association  carried  out 
the  scheme  with  energy  and  success.     In    the   course  of  two 


THE   REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  lOI 

weeks,  upward  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  young  men  were  indi- 
vidually conversed  with,  almost  the  whole  of  whom  ultimately 
professed  faith  in  Christ.  The  work  has  been  carried  on 
throughout  the  year  by  the  Association,  as  well  as  by  the  direct 
instrumentality  of  the  churches,  with  much  prayer  and  pains, 
and  many  have  been  added  to  the  Lord.  In  the  Post  and  Tele- 
graph offices  alone  there  are  some  twenty  young  men  and  lads 
who  have  come  over  to  the  Lord's  side,  and  are  zealous  in  his 
service.  As  Andrew  found  his  brother  Simon,  and  brought  him 
to  Jesus,  so  in  many  a  pleasing  instance,  brothers  have  been 
bringing  brothers,  and  young  men  have  been  bringing  their  com- 
panions, to  the  Saviour.  The  seal  of  God's  blessing  has  been 
clearly  stamped  on  the  efforts  of  the  Christian  young  men.  And 
although,  to  the  eye  of  an  observer  looking  only  on  the  surface, 
nothing  may  be  apparent  save  the  ordinary  ripple  of  Christian 
work,  to  those  who  look  more  closely,  a  powerful  under-current 
of  spiritual  influence  is  plainly  seen  to  be  at  work  among  the 
youth  of  our  town.  In  many  quarters  the  tide  is  fairly  turned 
and  is  setting  in  steadily  in  the  right  direction ;  and  we 
expect  still  greater  and  better  things. 

In  regard  to  the  work  among  the  children,  we  have  never 
before  seen  so  much  precious  fruit  in  the  same  space  of  time. 
All  the  year  round  there  has  been  great  joy  in  many  a  family, 
and  in  many  a  Sabbath-school.  Nor  has  this  joy  proved  to  be 
evanescent  or  fruitless.  To  this  fact  parents  and  teachers  bear 
decided  testimony.  Running  parallel  with  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  there  has  been  a  remarkable  dispensation  of  Prov- 
idence in  the  removal  of  many  Httle  ones  to  the  spirit-world. 
Beautiful  and  instructive  in  many  instances  have  been  the  last 
solemn  scenes  of  life.  To  the  clear  eye  of  a  child's  faith  there 
is  almost  no  darkness  in  the  valley.  To  the  ear  of  the  little 
Christian,  quick  to  catch  the  voices  from  above,  the  solemn 
sound  of  Jordan's  waters  has  no  terrors.  With  marvellous 
wisdom  and  force,  these  dying  children  gave  forth  their  testi- 
mony to  Jesus  and  his  grace. 

While  the   immediate   results  of  the  work  are  exceedingly 
precious,  the  value  of  its  full  outcome  can  scarcely  be  ovdr- 


102  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

estimated  :  believers  are  refreshed  and  lifted  higher — Christian 
workers  of  every  class  having  renewed  their  strength,  and  are 
filled  with  fresh  hope  and  zeal.  The  whole  body  of  the  living 
Chuich  has  made  an  advance ;  her  forces  are  increased,  hei 
meihods  are  improved.  So  mighty  an  impulse  cannot  fail  of 
great  and  lasting  results.  But  there  remains  much  land  to  be 
possessed,  and  from  the  recent  movement  there  comes  to  us  a 
loud  and  stirring  call  to  go  forward.  Thanking  God  for  the 
past,  and  taking  courage,  we  look  into  the  future  with  heart  of 
good  cheer  ;  for  we  feel  assured,  '*  'Tis  better  on  before  1  *' 

But  the  great  meeting  in  Scotland  was  in  Glasgow.  On 
Sunday  morning,  February  8,  1874,  at  nine  o'clock,  Mr.  Moody 
addressed  3000  Sabbath-school  teachers  and  Christian  workers 
in  the  City  Hall.  At  half-past  five  in  the  evening,  an  hour 
before  the  time  for  services  to  begin,  the  hall  was  crowded  in 
every  corner.  The  crowds  became  so  great  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  hold  separate  meetings  for  men  and  women,  and  even 
then  no  building  in  Glasgow  could  be  found  large  enough  to 
hold  the  congregations.  The  interest  among  the  impenitent 
was  beyond  precedent.  It  was  another  Pentecost.  Again  and 
again  1000  inquirers  remained  after  the  sermon  to  be  pointed 
to  Chris^ 

During  the  six  days  beginning  with  Tuesday  of  Jast  week, 
the  suburb  of  Hillhead  was  nine  times  flooded  with  crowds  hur- 
rying to  the  Crystal  Palace.  This  unique  glass  house  is  the  lar- 
gest place  of  public  assembly  in  Scotland,  and  can  seat  about 
four  thousand,  while  a  thousand  or  two  more  may  be  crowded 
into  it.  Tuesday  evening  was  for  the  young  women.  Hun- 
dreds appealed  in  vain  for  tickets  after  seven  thousand  five 
hundred  had  been  distributed,  and  hundreds  who  had  them 
struggled  in  vain  for  admission.  The  building  was  crowded  jp 
to  the  fainting  point,  and  the  meeting  was  partly  spoiled  by  its 
numerical  success.  On  Wednesday  the  young  men  who  were 
ticket-holders  darkened  the  Great  Western  road  more  than  an 
hour  before  the  time  of  meeting.  All  comers  were  welcome  on 
Tiiursday,  so  long  as  there  was  any  room.  In  spite  of  the 
rain  the  Palace  was  filled  by  seven  o'clock,  and  about  one-half 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND. 


103 


of  the  audience  seemed  to  be  young  men  of  the  middle  classes. 
On  Friday  the  noon  prayer-meeting  was  transferred  to  the  Pal- 
ace, which  was  comfortably  filled  with  the  better,  or  better-off, 
classes.  Friday  evening's  meeting  was  the  most  significant  of 
the  series.  Tickets  for  it  were  given  only  to  those  who,  on 
applying  for  them  in  person,  declared  that  they  believed  them- 
selves to  have  been  converted  since  January  ist,  and  gave  their 
names,  addresses,  and  church  connection,  which  information, 
we  are  told,  is  to  be  forwarded  to  their  several  pastors.  It 
was  publicly  stated  that  about  three  thousand  five  hundred  had 
received  tickets  on  these  conditions.  As  the  Americans  did 
not  arrive  till  six  weeks  after  New  Years,  and  as  the  tickets 
were  not  exclusively  for  the  frequenters  of  their  meetings,  it 
was  hardly  fair  in  one  of  our  contemporaries  to  insinuate  that 
the  object  was  to  number  and  ticket  Moody's  converts.  The 
children  had  their  turn  on  Saturday  at  noon,  and  the  working- 
people  at  night.  On  Sunday  morning  the  young  women  were 
admitted  by  ticket,  and  at  six  o'clock  p.  m.  the  Palace  was 
filled  both  inside  and  outside,  as  an  Irishman  would  say.  While 
several  ministers,  along  with  Mr.  Sankey,  conducted  the  service 
inside,  Mr.  Moody  addressed  a  crowd  in  the  open  air  that  filled 
the  whole  space  between  the  Palace  and  the  gate  of  the  Botanic 
Gardens.  Many  hundreds  did  not  even  get  the  length  of  the 
garden  gate.  The  estimates  of  the  vast  throng — mere  guess- 
work, of  course — range  from  fifteen  to  thirty  thousand.  A  month 
ago,  in  the  same  place  and  under  the  same  auspices,  another 
meeting  was  held  for  six  and  a  half  hours.  We  refer  to  the 
**  Christian  Convention,"  which  Dr.  Cairns  declared  to  be  "un- 
paralleled in  the  history  of  the  Scotch,  perhaps  of  British 
Christianity."  It  was  reported  that  about  five  thousand  were 
present,  of  whom  some  two  thousand  were  ministers  and  ofiice- 
bcarers  from  Scotland  and  the  North  of  England. 

Now  these  are  conspicuous  facts',  and  challenge  the  respect- 
ful attention  and  sympathy  of  all,  whatever  their  religious  views 
may  be,  were  it  on  no  higher  principle  than  that  of  the  ancient 
poet,  "  I  am  a  man,  and  deem  nothing  human  uninteresting  to 
rae."     Some  have  already  photographed  the  humorous  side  of 


I04  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

these  religious  assemblies,  and  proved  what  we  daresay  nobody 
will  deny,  that  some  blemishes  cleave  to  them.  We  are  per- 
suaded, however,  that  many  of  our  readers  will  not  be  disinclined 
to  look  at  the  higher  aspects  of  '*  these  wondrous  gatherings  day 
by  day  ;  "  for  we  are  not  aware  that  so  many  large  and  represent 
ative  meetings  have  been  drawn  together  in  Glasgow  by  any 
cause  or  interest  whatever  during  the  past  century.  Here  is  a 
novel  addition  to  the  "  May  meetings" — anew  General  Assem- 
bly, with  representatives  of  almost  every  class  of  society  and 
every  Protestant  Church  in  the  land. 

The  religious  movement,  of  which  these  meetings  are  the 
most  outstanding  manifestation,  dates,  so  far  as  it  met  the  pub- 
lic eye  from  "  the  week  of  prayer  "  in  the  beginning  of  January. 
The  ministers  and  office-bearers  of  almost  all  the  churches  then 
met,  and  formed  a  committee  to  arrange  for  united  prayer 
meetings,  and  also  for  the  expected  visit  of  the  American  Evan- 
gelists. The  record  of  what  was  going  on  in  the  North  of  Eng- 
land, and  especially  in  Edinburgh,  had  previously  inflamed,  as 
well  as  informed,  many  of  the  more  receptive  and  sympathetic 
souls.  Tokens  of  growing  interest  had  also  been  appearing  in 
many  quarters  ;  and  evangelistic  services,  such  as  those  con- 
ducted by  Mr.  Brownlovv  North  and  others,  had  indicated  that 
the  spiritual  thermometer  was  steadily  rising.  During  the  first 
week  of  January  St.  George's  Church  was  crowded  at  noon, 
while  the  overflow  was  accommodated  in  Hope  Street  Free 
Gaelic  Church.  After  the  first  fortnight  Wellington  Street 
United  Presbyteriaa  Church  was  made  the  centre,  where,  on 
an  average,  about  a  thousand  met  daily  for  prayer.  In  the 
second  week  of  February,  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  began 
their  work  among  us  ;  and  for  the  last  three  months  they  have 
conducted  meetings  every  day,  with  a  few  exceptions.  The 
mind  experiences  a  sense  of  fiitiguc  in  detailing  their  eflbrts. 
They  certainly  have  not  spared  tiicmselves.  Here  is  something 
like  an  average  week-day's  work  :  twelve  to  one  o'clock,  prayer- 
mcclJng  ;  one  to  two  o'clock,  conversation  with  individuals  j 
four  to  five  o'clock,  Bible  lecture,  attended  by  some  twelve  or 
fifteen  hundred  ;  seven  to  half-past  eight  o'clock,  evangelistic 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  IO5 

meeting,  with  inquiry  meeting  at  close  ;  nine  to  ten  o'clock, 
young  men's  meeting.  The  tale  of  some  Sabbath  day's  work 
is  even  heavier:  nine  to  ten  o'clock,  City  Hall ;  eleven  to  half- 
past  twelve  o'clock,  a  church  service  ;  live  to  seven  o'clock, 
women's  ;  seven  to  nine  o'clock,  men's  meetings  in  City  Hall. 
Very  few  men  possess,  or  at  least  exercise,  such  powers  of  ser- 
vice ;  though  in  addition  to  the  aid  from  the  realm  beyond  on 
which  true  workers  rely,  we  doubt  not  that  congenial  and  suc- 
cessful Christian  work  may  sustain  a  man  beyond  any  other 
form  of  human  effort.  Admission  to  these  meetings  was  usually 
by  ticket,  a  necessary  precaution  against  perilous  overcrowding. 
The  animated  scenes  of  last  week  in  the  Botanic  Gardens  prove 
that  the  interest  has  not  waned,  even  after  three  months'  use 
and  wont  had  worn  off  the  edge  of  novelty. 

Accepting  this  as  a  genuine  Christian  work,  it  may  be  worth 
while  to  fix  attention  on  some  of  its  leading  characteristics  and 
results.  We  would  say  here,  in  passing,  that  we  cannot  welJ 
understand  why  some  educated  minds,  without  granting  a  hear- 
ing, condemn  religious  revivals  out-and-out  on  philosophical 
grounds.  Viewed  on  the  human  side,  the  philosophy  of 
revivals,  as  they  term  it,  is  just  a  department  of  the  philoso- 
phy of  history.  In  no  region  has  progress  been  uniformly 
steady  and  gradual ;  but  it  has  been  now  and  then  by  great 
strides,  by  fits  and  starts,  and  such  events  as  the  Germans  call 
epoch-making.  In  all  the  affairs  of  men  there  have  been  tides 
vviih  full  floods.  Every  channel  along  which  human  energies 
pour  themselves  has  had  its  "freshet."  We  are  familiar  with 
revivals  in  trade,  science,  literature,  arts,  and  politics.  Times 
of  refreshing  and  visitation  are  not  much  more  frequent  in  sacred 
than  in  secular  history  ;  and  they  indicate  the  most  interesting 
and  fruitful  periods  in  both. 

To  say  that  the  work  betrays  some  imperfections,  and  that 
there  have  been  many  objectors,  is  only  to  say  what  has  been  just- 
ly said  of  every  great  enterprih'e,  civil  and  religious.  But  this 
revival  seems  to  be  distinguished  from  all  previous  revivals  by 
the  circumstance  that  it  has  been  indorsed  by  something  like 
the  catholic  consent  of  the  churches.     From  the  outset,  nearly 


I06  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   GREAT   BRITAIN. 

all  our  leading  ministers,  and  not  a  few  of  our  foremost  laymen, 
identified  themselves  with  it.  They  sat  and  sang  together  on 
the  pulpit  stairs  and  platform  at  the  daily  prayer-meeting.  A 
Highland  member  of  the  Free  Church  Presbytery  lately  pro- 
tested against  some  of  the  accompaniments  ;  and  in  a  court  that 
numbers  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  members,  there  was  not 
one  to  second  his  lament.  One  o(  our  most  conservative 
churches— the  Reformed  Presbyterian — gave  its  unanimous  and 
cordial  approval  the  other  day  at  its  Synod. 

The  unfriendly  letter-writers  fall  into  two  classes.  Some 
sign  themselves  clergymen,  and  are  much  exercised  about  their 
clerical  status.  If  any  in  these  days  will  make  it  their  chief 
concern  to  stand  upon  their  official  dignity,  they  shall  find  by- 
and-by  that  they  have  not  much  ground  to  stand  upon.  No 
evangelists,  however,  have  come  among  us  who  have  more 
respected  the  position  and  influence  of  the  ministers.  Mr. 
Moody's  first  statement  at  his  first  meeting  in  the  City  Hall  was, 
that  he  met  with  the  Sabbath-school  teachers  first,  because  he 
knew  that  no  class  would  welcome  him  more  heartily,  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  ministers,  and  that  it  would  be  pre- 
sumption in  him  to  lecture  them.  The  other  class  of  unfriendly 
critics  write  in  the  interest  of  intellectualism  and  culture  in  its 
*'  broadest "  sense.  We  suspect  that  the  "  sages,"  whose  pro- 
fession is,  as  one  of  themselves  has  said,  that  they  are  neither 
great  sinners  nor  great  saints,  are  the  enemies  of  revivals  only 
because  they  are  the  enemies  of  the  things  revived.  Would 
they  object,  for  instance,  to  a  revival  that  gave  body  and 
popular  attractions  to  the  worn-out  ideas  which  they  commend 
as  the  «<r  //us  ultra  of  attainable  truth  ?  At  all  events,  it  will 
not  do  for  them  to  say  that  only  the  women  and  the  children 
have  been  attracted,  for  there  has  been  nightly  a  most  impos- 
ing muster  of  the  vigorous  manhood  of  our  city,  and  the  City 
Hall  has  been  often  found  too  small  to  accommodate  the  men 
who  flocked  to  some  of  the  special  services. 

Mr.  Moody  is  very  fortunate  in  having  such  a  colleague  as 
Mr.  Sankcy.  He  has  enriched  evangelistic  work  by  something 
approaching  the  discovery  of  a  new  power.     He  spoils    the 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND. 


107 


Egyptians  of  their  finest  music,  and  consecrates  it  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  tabernacle.  Music  in  his  hands  is,  more  than  it  has 
yet  been,  the  handmaid  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  voice  of  the 
heart.  We  have  seen  many  stirred  and  melted  by  iiis  singing 
before  a  word  had  been  spoken.  Indeed,  his  singing  is  just  a 
powerful,  distinct,  and  heart-toned  way  of  speaking,  that  seems 
often  to  reach  the  heart  by  a  short  cut,  when  mere  speaking 
might  lose  the  road.  Most  people  admit  that  the  work  has 
been  conducted  in  a  very  calm  and  sober-minded  fashion 
Mr.  Moody  is  credited  with  a  large  share  of  shrewdness  and 
common  sense.  He  has  not  yielded  to  the  temptations  that 
powerfully  assail  his  class.  He  does  not  give  himself  out  to  be 
coddled  and  petted  by  well-meaning  but  injudicious  admirers. 
We  have  not  noticed  in  him  that  offensive  affectation  of  supe- 
rior piety  that  provoked  a  sarcastic  acquaintance  of  ours  to  say 
that  some  revivalists  seemed  to  begin  their  story  as  ,Virgil 
makes  ^neas  begin  his,  "  I  am  the  pious  ^neas."  He  keeps 
close  to  the  essentials,  and  is  free  from  such  crotchets  as  often 
narrow  the  sphere  and  destroy  the  influence  of  evangelists.  It 
is  not  irritation  but  balm,  that  he  tries  to  bring  to  our  religious 
divisions.  It  must  be  owned  that  a  premium  has  not  been  set 
on  the  hysterical,  the  convulsive,  and  the  sensational  forms  of 
religious  excitement.  The  proverbial  weakness  for  numbers 
has  been  more  apparent  in  some  of  his  sympathizers  than  in 
himself.  Nor  does  he  make  himself  responsible  for  the  reality 
of  every  apparent  conversion.  He  has  set  his  face  sternly 
against  the  religious  dissipation  in  which  some  of  his  most  inde- 
fatigable hearers  rejoice.  Novelty-hunters  and  marvel-mongers 
have  not  been  gratified.  Sight-seers  have  been  usually  ex- 
cluded from  the  meetings  for  inquirers,  and  only  "workers" 
have  been  admitted.  That  there  has  been  nothing  necessarily 
repellant  to  thoughtful  and  educated  people  is  proved  by  the 
number  of  middle-class  young  men  in  sympathy,  and  by  the  fair 
proportion  of  them  at  the  "  Converts'  Meeting,"  and  also  by  the 
crowds  of  genteel  people  at  the  quiet  afternoon  Bible  lectures. 
Though  he  has  introduced  some  novel  methods,  he  has  stuck 
to  the  simple  old  truths,  and   his   convictions    are  in    cntLic 


jo8  M(X;DY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

accord  with  Scottish  orthodoxy.  His  straightfoi-ward,  business- 
like, slap-dash  style  gives  a  fascinating  air  of  reality  to  all  he 
says,  while  his  humor,  capital  hits,  vivid  and  homely  illustra- 
tions, and  now  and  again  his  deep  feeling,  seldom  fail  to  rivet 
the  attention  of  his  hearers.  He  has  not  a  roundabout  and  far- 
off  way  of  handling  divine  things,  and  hence  many  accuse  him 
of  abruptness,  brusqueness,  and  undue  familiarity.  The 
Christian  life  he* commends  is  manly  and  genial,  intense,  and 
yet  not  strained  or  twisted.  These  features  go  far  to  explain 
what  would  be  called  in  America  his  personal  magnetism. 

Many  ask,  "  But  will  it  last  ?  What  is  to  come  out  of  all 
this  ? "  In  Edinburgh,  they  say  that  since  the  Americans  left,  the 
impression  has  been  steadily  increasing,  and  that  it  has  entered 
intiuential  spheres  almost  untouched  before.  The  summer 
scatterings  will  severely  test  the  reality  of  the  movement,  but 
perhaps  they  may  also  scatter  a  share  of  the  stimulus  along 
both  sides  of  the  Clyde.  The  avowed  end  from  the  first  has 
been  that  the  ordinary  congregational  channels  might  be  flushed 
and  flooded  with  fresh  energy.  Such  extraordinary  efforts  are 
most  successful,  though  their  success  is  less  apparent  when  they 
add  new  power  to  ordinary  agencies.  If  this  be  the  result,  the 
friends  of  the  movement  will  have  no  cause  for  disappointment, 
while  its  enemies  will  point  to  the  absence  of  demonstrative  ac- 
companiments as  a  proof  that  it  has  entirely  collapsed. 

We  may  expect  that  something  will  be  gained  from  the 
experience  of  the  past  months.  New  methods  of  conduct- 
ing meetings  are  already  finding  favor.  Some  may  be  in  danger 
of  surrendering  hastily  their  individuality,  and  adopting  modes 
of  speech  and  action  foreign  to  them.  We  may  easily  ascribe 
too  much  to  the  new  methods  of  the  American  evangelists. 
Their  success  is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  they  approach  the 
Scottish  churches  on  the  side  on  which  they  are  weakest.  It 
would  seem  that  Scottish  styles  are  about  as  popular  in  America, 
as  American  styles  have  proved  in  Scotland,  and  for  the  very 
same  reason.  At  the  Evan-relical  Alliance  in  New  York,  the 
speakers  from  our  country  were  most  appreciated,  because  they 
were  strong  where  Americans  fcU  themselves  to  be  weak.     Tno 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  I09 

career  of  Dr.  Hall  in  New  York  is  also  a  notable  case  in  point. 
By  all  means  let  us  have  more  elasticity,  and  a  greater  readiness 
to  adopt  and  adapt  whatever  is  serviceable.  But,  after  all,  new 
methods  will  not  help  the  churches  a  great  deal.  The  surprise 
and  force  of  contrast  soon  wear  off;  and  if  men  go  too  far  for  a 
little  in  any  direction,  they  take  their  revenge  in  abandoning 
what  formerly  they  overpraised.  Age  and  repetition  by-and  by 
make  the  most  skillful  methods  dull  and  conventional.  The 
grand  need  is  far  deeper — an  inward  vitality  that  makes  men 
and  churches  fresh,  vigorous,  and  fruitful.  If^  as  we  are  told, 
multitudes  in  all  the  churches  have  been  recently  quickened, 
new  bottles  should  be  made,  as  well  as  borrowed,  for  the  new 
wine. 

Some  confidently  expect  a  more  general  co-operation  of 
Christians  than  has  hitherto  prevailed.  Dr.  James  Hamilton's 
quaint  illustration  has  been  so  far  verified.  When  the  tide  is 
out,  each  shrimp  has  a  little  pool  of  salt  water,  which  is  to  him 
all  the  ocean  for  the  time  being.  But  when  the  rising  ocean 
begins  to  lip  over  the  margin  of  his  lurking-place,  one  pool  joins 
another,  their  various  tenants  meet  and  mingle,  and  soon  they 
have  ocean's  boundless  fields  to  roam  in.  It  will  be  a  pity  if  an 
ebbing  tide  carries  each  back  to  his  little  narrow  pool. 

The  relation  of  this  work  to  the  masses  has  been  much 
discussed.  Those  who  blame  Mr.  Moody  for  not  working 
among  them  should  remember  that  the  tickets  for  all  the  meet- 
ings were  distributed  by  the  ministers  of  each  district,  and  that 
in  some  cases  the  non-church-going  had  the  preference.  Recent 
speeches  in  presbyteries  and  synods  show  that  many  are  anx- 
ious to  give  a  home-mission  direction  to  the  movement.  Quick- 
ened life  in  presence  of  neglected  multitudes  must  approve  its 
sincerity  by  zealous  mission  work.  We  hear  that  the  committee 
have  already  purchased  a  monster  tent,  capable  of  holding  two 
thousand,  and  that  it  will  soon  be  one  of  their  chief  rallying- 
points.  The  young  ladies  of  the  choir,  who  give  invaluable  aid, 
are  likely,  it  is  said,  to  continue  at  their  post.  This  would  be 
a  very  graceful  and  telling  way  of  bringing  together  the  East 
and   West    Ends.     Hundreds   of  young   hdies  with  splendid 


110  MOODY  AND   SANKEY   IN   GREAT   BRITAIN. 

voices  and  an  expensive  musical  education  might  thus  find  a 
grateful  relief  from  omui,  and  a  healthful  substitute  for  other 
excitements.  The  work  among  the  masses  gives  them  a  fine 
opportunity  of  gaining  a  recompense  for  all  the  trouble  and 
cost  by  which  they  have  become  gifted  musicians.  It  will  be 
a  new  power  to  them,  and  to  many  preachers  who  can  appreciate 
such  co-operation." 

Says  one :  It  seems  to  be  generally  admitted  that  the  young 
men  have  had  the  largest  share  of  the  blessing.  Their  case 
from  the  very  first  was  especially  laid  upon  the  hearts  and  con- 
sciences of  the  praying  people.  Our  spiritual  dead  among  the 
young  men  were  carried  forth  like  the  dead  son  of  the  widow 
of  Nain.  A  widowed  Church  carried  them  forth  with  affection- 
ate sorrow  ;  but  not  in  despair,  as  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  pass- 
ing by,  and  His  fame  was  in  the  land.  At  His  bidding  she 
stood  still,  expecting  His  aid  ;  and  many  of  our  spiritual  dead 
heard  His  life-giving  word,  and  were  restored  to  the  crown  and 
joy  of  the  Church.  I  do  not  think  that  I  have  ever  seen  better 
religious  meetings  than  some  of  those  young  men's  meetings." 

Among  the  laborers  at  Glasgow  was  Brownlow  North,  Esq., 
one  of  the  wonderful  men  whom  God  has  lately  raised  up  to 
propagate  the  Gospel  outside  the  ordinary  channels.  We  give 
the  following  obituary  notice  : 

The  death  of  this  distinguished  lay  preacher  and  evangelist 
took  place  at  Tillichewan,  Dumbartonshire,  on  the  9ih  of  No- 
vember. "  All  that  was  interesting  in  his  life  to  the  Christian 
community,"  says  the  Daily  News,  "  began  exactly  twenty-one 
years  ago  in  November,  1854,  when  he  was  suddenly  and  over- 
whelmingly arrested  by  the  fear  of  death  when  playing  at  cards, 
lie  was  then  forty-four  years  of  age,  and  his  previous  life  had 
been  such  as  to  make  him  tremble  at  the  prospect  of  death  and 
judgment.  His  talents  were  of  a  very  high  order,  with  the  athletic 
frame  and  vast  energy  he  was  fitted  to  take  a  foremost  position 
in  any  Ifne  of  life  he  might  have  chosen.  But,  not  requiring  to 
engage  in  professional  pursuits,  he  gave  himself  to  what  seemed 
to  him  a  life  of  pleasure,  and,  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word, 
became  a   man   of  the  world.     But  the  cold  hand  of  death,  as 


THE   REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND,  III 

he  took  it  to  be,  came  upon  him  with  a  terrible  arrest,  he  earn 
estly  cried  for  mercy  that  night,  next  day  he  announced  to  his 
family  and  friends  that  for  the  future  he  was  a  changed  man, 
and  he  immediately  owned  God  in  his  house  by  daily  prayer 
and  reading  of  the  Scriptures.  After  many  months  he  found 
peace  of  conscience  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  set  himself 
to  distribute  tracts,  and  visit  the  sick  and  dying  in  his  neigh- 
borhood. Gradually  this  led  to  larger  meetings,  and  then  to 
preaching  in  country  churches,  for  which  his  Oxford  studies 
fitted  him  ;  for  he  had  been  educated  in  the  Church  of  England 
but  his  conscience  kept  him  from  taking  orders.  After  two  or 
three  years  he  preached  in  Edinburgh  to  great  crowds,  and  with 
a  very  singular  power.  He  had  been  carefully  taught  the  grand 
Bible  truths  regarding  sin,  redemption,  and  regeneration  ;  he 
always  stated  them  with  great  clearness  and  force.  But  at  that 
time  his  peculiar  power  above  other  preachers  lay  in  his  marvel- 
lous unfolding  of  those  two  truths — the  existence  and  presence  of 
the  Living  God,  and  the  great  eternity  that  is  before  every  man. 
These  truths  he  did  not  hold,  but  was  held  by  them,  and  was 
borne  onward  with  an  irrepressible  enthusiasm  to  communicate 
them  to  every  living  man  whom  his   words  could  reach. 

After  three  months  of  toil  and  conquest  almost  unparalleled 
in  the  history  of  evangelization,  the  brethren  turned  their  faces 
to  the  North,  having  closed  their  campaign  in  the  following  way  : 

The  last  week  has  been  a  most  impressive  one.  The 
interest  may  be  said  to  have  culminated  in  the  assemblages  in 
the  Kibble  palace.  On  Tuesday  evening  a  fresh  meeting  o! 
women  took  place  there ;  all  classes  and  ages  were  largely 
represented,  and  the  bearing  of  the  majority  was  most  devout. 
Although  upward  of  five  thousand  were  accommodated  within  the 
building,  the  issue  of  tickets  had  been  so  liberal  that  nearly  two 
thousand  more  could  not  gain  admittance,  and  were  addressed 
on  the  green  outside  by  various  clergymen.  Even  among  those 
who  could  hear  nothing  the  greatest  good  humor  prevailed. 

On  Wednesday  night  upward  of  seven  thousand  men  man- 
aged to  find  sitting  and  standing  room  within  the  Palace, 
packing  exceedingly  close.     The  vast   assemblage  was   most 


112  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

decorous,  and  obeyed  orders  implicitly.  The  full,  strong 
singing  of  the  hymns  was  a  sound  to  be  remembered.  Num- 
bers of  inquirers  gathered  afterward  in  the  opposite  church 
and  many  could  state  that  there  was  a  good  result  of  that 
night's  work. 

Admission  to  these  two  meetings  had  been  exclusively  by 
ticket.  On  Thursday  night  the  Palace  was  open  to  all ;  but 
soon  the  doors  haa  ^o  be  shut,  leaving  large  numbers  outside. 
The  meetings  throughout  were  conducted  in  the  usual  vigor- 
ous style,  Mr.  Moody  being  present,  and  delivering  pointed 
addresses,  clergymen  and  laymen  relating  their  own  experi- 
ences, and  bringing  forward  instances  and  reports  of  the  work 
elsewhere. 

On  Friday  evening  came  the  meeting  for  those  who  pro- 
fessed to  have  been  converted  during  the  last  few  months. 
The  tickets  for  this  had  only  been  given  to  those  who  placed 
their  names  and  addresses,  and  the  names  of  their  ministers,, 
on  a  register,  opened  for  the  purpose ;  and  of  which,  they  wer? 
informed,  extracts  would  be  forwarded  to  the  clergymen  to 
whose  churches  they  belonged,  thus  to  prevent  thoughtless 
application  for  converts'  tickets,  an  ultimate  check  being  es- 
tablished. The  Palace  was  comfortably  filled,  and  the  utmost 
order  prevailed.  In  looking  over  the  assemblage,  it  was 
apparent  that  the  great  proportion  consisted  of  young  people, 
probably  under  twenty-five  years  of  age.  All  were  well- 
dressed,  clear-eyed  people,  in  the  ring  of  whose  voices,  when 
singing  the  opening  hymn  of  praise,  more  than  the  common 
sound  was  heard.  It  was  a  glorious  sight.  Some,  no  doubt, 
may  have  joined  that  throng  without  due  warrant  ;  but  with 
such  exceptions,  each  individual  had  found  his  title  clearly 
written  in  the  Word  of  his  Lord  and  Master.  One  instance 
came  within  our  knowledge  of  two  ladies  who,  receiving  tickets 
under  a  misapprehension,  personally  came  to  deliver  them  up. 
This  wab  the  more  honorable,  as  many  would  have  entered  by 
any  mi'ans  in  their  power,  had  the  register  not  stood  in  the 
way.  An  instance,  indeed,  occurred  of  one  old  lady,  who, 
having  made  up  her  mind  to  enter,  would  take  no  denial,  and 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  II3 

indignantly  gave  the  peculiar  reason  for  insistence,  that  she 
was  well  known  to  the  best  people  of  the  West  End,  and  to  the 
magistrates  of  the  city  and  county. 

On  Saturday  came  the  meeting  for  children,  and  in  the 
evening  another  for  grown  people  ;  but  the  greatest  gathering 
of  the  week  took  place  on  the  Sabbath,  when,  after  a  meeting 
in  the  morning  for  women  v»'ho  had  not  obtained  admittance  on 
the  previous  Tuesday,  the  gates  were  thrown  open  in  the  after 
noon  to  all  comers.  Such  a  crowd  as  had  never  been  seen  in 
these  parts  before.  Many  a  time  during  the  week  the  Great 
Western  road  had  been  darkened  for  an  hour  and  a  half  with 
the  living  stream,  but  that  night  for  three  hours  the  stream  was 
incessant.  Vehicles  were  not  easily  to  be  had  on  Sunday,  so 
nearly  all  came  on  foot — all  classes,  "  gentle  and  simple,'* 
young  and  old,  blind  and  lame.  The  Palace  was  immediately 
filled,  but  the  afternoon  sun  was  so  hot  there  that  soon  the 
whole  had  to  turn  out  on  the  green  ;  there  a  crowd,  variously 
estimated  at  from  twenty  to  thirty  thousand,  was  soon  gathered. 
Some  apprehension  was  entertained  that  mishaps  might  ensue 
inside  or  outside  the  building;  but  by  the  exercise  of  consider- 
able firmness,  and  compliance  with  orders  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  the  danger  was  happily  averted.  Mr.  Moody  ad- 
dressed the  crowd,  standing  on  the  box  of  a  private  carriage, 
and  by  those  within  comfortable  ear-shot  he  was  considered  to 
have  surpassed  himself  in  earnestness  and  force.  The  sing- 
ing of  the  sweet  hymns  by  such  a  strength  of  voices,  sounded 
upon  that  quiet  sunny  Sabbath  evening  from  amidst  the  fresh 
foliage  of  the  gardens,  was  deeply  impressive.  Such  a  sight, 
too,  had  probably  never  before  been  seen  within  the  limits  of 
the  land.  While  the  main  body  dispersed,  filling  all  the  ap- 
proaches and  the  public  roads,  about  five  thousand  christians, 
and  those  professedly  anxious  about  their  own  state,  gathered 
inside  the  Palace,  and  for  the  last  time  heard  the  voice  of  the 
man  for  whom  such  an  affection  has  sprung  up  in  the  hearts 
of  many.  The  scene  was  impressive  when  an  English  speaker, 
with  rapid  and  energetic  utterance,  reminded  the  assemblage, 
many  of  whom  had  the  greatest  cause  to  thank  God  for  all  he 


114  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

had  lecently  done  for  and  by  them,  that  that  man  (Mr.  Moody) 
ought  to  be  constantly  remembered  in  the  prayers  of  all,  to 
whom  he  had  proved  an  instrument  of  grace.  Many  were 
much  moved.  Mr.  Moody  then  took  a  farewell  of  the  people, 
most  of  whom  he  could  never  hope  to  see  again  in  the  body,  and, 
as  a  final  message,  declared  that  many  christian  friends  in  that 
place  and  elsewhere  had  agreed  to  unite  in  prayer  that  night 
for  those  then  gathered  together  who  might  be  anxious  about 
their  own  state,  conscious  they  were  not  saved.  The  twilight 
was  rapidly  deepening  when  he  asked  those  in  such  a  case  to 
rise  to  their  feet  in  sign  of  their  desire.  The  solemnity  of 
feeling  was  indeed  deep,  when  from  four  to  five  hundred 
persons  quietly  rose  all  over  the  house,  and  as  quietly  resumed 
tlieir  places,  actuated  evidently  by  something  outside  their 
ordinary  lives. 

Was  not  that  something  like  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  We  shall, 
perhaps,  never  know  here ;  but  when  from  among  the  ranks  of 
those  who  have  felt  his  power  we  find  men  and  women  quietly 
affirming  to  friends  and  strangers  the  inner  change  which  has 
been  wrought  in  them,  and  then  going  out  to  work  for  him  ; 
when  we  find  this  wide-spread,  and  representatives  of  all  classes 
among  the  believers,  have  we  any  right  further  to  question  that 
God  has  been  working,  and  will  continue  to  work,  in  men's 
hearts  powerfully?  Be  the  instruments  who  they  may,  are  they 
not  of  God's  choosing  ?  Some  of  his  own  servants  may  have 
been  kept  from  joining  in  the  work  of  promoting  the  awakening  ; 
but  now  that  the  first  instruments  of  this  general  awakening 
have  left  us,  it  must  be,  it  is,  the  sacred  duty  of  all  the  stated 
ministers  in  the  field  to  take  up  the  work  where  it  now  stands, 
and  to  carry  it  on,  thankful  and  joyful  in  the  fresh  vigor  infused 
into  the  spiritual  life  of  many,  and  jealous  only  for  the  extension 
of  the  Master's  kingdom." 

TuE  Summer  Blessing. 

Another  brief  visit  to  Edinburgh  and  Dundee  was  followed 
by  a  lour  of  great  interest  in  the  Scottish  Highland  country. 
Many  of  their  meetings  were  held  in  the  open  air,  and  attended 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND. 


"5 


by  vast  multitudes.  As  a  specimen  of  what  transpired  at  these 
places  we  take  the  account  of  a  visit  to  Elgin,  Aberdeen,  and 
Craig  Castle. 

It  was  a  strange  contrast  last  Thursday  ;  at  five  o'clock,  in 
the  busy  Show  at  Inverness,  at  seven  in  the  streets  of  Elgin 
quiet  at  all  times,  but  that  night  altogether  passengerless  and 
deserted.  Surely  something  unusual  was  goii^g  on — the  streets 
abandoned,  the  house-doors  fast,  the  shops  closed.  Through 
half  a  mile  of  the  empty  streets  ours  were  the  only  footsteps  that 
echoed  on  the  pavement^  and  everything  was  silent  and  desolate 
as  a  plague-stricken  city!  At  last,  just  on  the  verge  of  the 
town,  the  stillness  was  broken  by  the  distant  sound  of  a  voice, 
and  the  turn  of  a  lane  revealed  a  sight  which  time  can  never 
efface  from  the  memory.  There  stood  the  inhabitants,  motion- 
less, breathless,  plague-stricken  indeed — plague-stricken  with  the 
plague  of  sin.  The  sermon  was  evidently  half  over,  and  the 
preacher,  with  folded  arms,  leaned  over  the  wooden  rail  of  the 
rude  platform.  Oh,  the  sin  upon  these  faces  round  him  !  How 
God  was  searching  the  heart  that  night !  I  cannot  tell  you  who 
were  there,  or  how  many,  or  what  a  good  choir  there  was,  or 
what  Mr.  Sankey  sang,  or  which  dignitary  prayed.  I  cannot 
tell  you  how  beautifully  the  sun  was  setting,  or  how  fresh  the 
background  of  woods  looked,  or  how  azure  the  sky  was.  But 
these  old  men  penitent,  these  drunkards  petrified,  these  strong 
men's  tears,  these  drooping  heads  of  women,  these  groups  of 
gutter  children,  with  their  wondering  eyes !  Oh,  that  multitude 
of  thirsty  ones — what  a  sight  it  was  !  What  could  the  preacher 
do  but  preach  his  best  ?  And  long  after  the  time  for  stopping 
was  it  a  marvel  to  hear  the  persuasive  voice  still  pleading  with 
these  Christless  thousands  ? 

One  often  hears  doubts  as  to  the  possibility  of  producing  an 
impression  in  the  open  air,  but  there  is  no  mistake  this  time. 
No,  there  is  no  mistaking  these  long  concentric  arcs  of  wistful 
faces  curving  around  the  speaker,  and  these  reluctant  tears, 
which  conscious  guilt  has  wrung  from  eyes  unused  to  weep. 
Oh,  the  power  of  the  living  Spirit  of  God  !  Oh,  the  fascination 
of  the  Gospd  of  Christ !     Oh,  the  gladness  of  the  old,  old  story 


Il6  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

of  these  men  and  women  hurrying  graveward  !  The  hundred- 
and  one  nights  in  Glasgow  excepted,  never  have  we  seen  the 
Holy  Spirit's  nearness  more  keenly  realized.  These  thousands 
just  hung  spell-bound  on  the  speaker's  lips.  It  seemed  as  if  he 
daren't  stop,  so  matjy  hungry  ones  were  there  to  feed.  At 
last  he  seemed  about  to  close,  and  the  audience  strained  to 
catch  the  last  solemn  words;  when  the  preacher,  casting  his 
eye  on  a  little  boy,  seemed  moved  with  an  overpowering  desire 
to  tell  the  little  ones  of  a  children's  Christ.  Then  followed  for 
fifteen  minutes  more  the  most  beautiful  and  pathetic  children's 
sermon  we  have  ever  heard  ;  and  then,  turning  to  the  weeping 
mothers  and  fathers,  concluded  with  a  last  tender  appeal,  which 
must  have  sunk  far  into  many  a  parent's  heart. 

Long  before  the  close  of  the  address  it  was  evident  to  all 
that  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  was  going  to  give  us  a  glorious 
reaping-time  that  night.  We  had  not,  indeed,  been  ten  minutes 
on  the  ground,  when  a  stranger  whispered,  in  the  very  middle 
of  the  address,  "  Will  you  come  and  speak  to  a  woman  aboul 
her  soul?"  at  the  same  time  pointing  out  a  drooping  figure 
standing  near,  with  face  buried  in  her  shawl.  We  were  not  sur- 
prised, therefore,  at  the  great  crowds  which  entered  the  inquiry- 
meetings — in  one  church  for  women,  another  in  a  large  hall  for 
men,  while  the  Christians  went  apart  by  themselves  to  another 
church  to  pray.  The  arrangements  connected  with  these  after- 
meetings  were  all  beautifully  managed,  and  shortly  after  nine 
o'clock  the  whole  three  were  well  under  way.  The  women's 
inquiry-meeting  was  supplied  with  relays  of  workers  from  the 
prayer-meeting.  The  work  was  on  a  very  large  scale,  and  the 
workers'  report  was,  that  the  cases  were  of  a  very  hopeful  char- 
acter. But  the  work  among  the  men — and  this  is  a  splendid 
testimony  to  the  depth  and  reality  of  the  impressions — was 
even  on  a  larger  scale  still  ;  and  the  sight  in  the  Evangelistic 
Hall,  where  the  men's  inquiry-meeting  was  held,  is  not  soon  to 
be  forgotten.  The  whole  hall  was  filled  with  men,  broken  up 
into  little  groups  of  twos  and  threes,  talking  in  hushed  yet 
earnest  voices  on  the  great  subject  of  the  one  thing  needful ; 
while  behind,  in  the  committee-room,  half  a  hundred  young  men 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  H*^ 

\»ere  gathered  in  prayer  for  their  groping  brothers.  Many  of 
these  had  themselves  but  newly  decided  for  Christ,  and  were 
the  fruit  of  the  week's  meetings  for  men,  which  have  been 
blessed  by  God  far  above  all  expectation. 

It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  give  even  an  approximate  idea  of 
the  extent  of  the  blessing  which  fell  upon  Elgin  on  Thursday 
night.  The  whole  of  Morayshire  has  shared  it,  and  a  powerful 
hold  has  been  gained  in  nearly  every  farm  house  and  village 
throughout  the  country  side. 

At  the  pressing  request  of  a  large  number  of  those  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  evangelistic  work  set  going  in  Aberdeen 
some  months  ago,  Mr.  Moody  paid  a  farewell  visit  to  Aberdeen 
in  August,  and  addressed  several  meetings,  at  the  same  time 
taking  occasion  to  urge  on  to  greater  zeal  those  who  were  en- 
gaged in  the  good  work.  Mr.  Sankey  has  been  obliged  to  go 
south  to  a  more  genial  temperature  to  recruit  his  health,  but 
Mr.  Moody  has  wrought  on  since  he  left  Aberdeen,  in  different 
districts  in  the  north,  almost  without  ceasing;  the  same  remark- 
able results  always  attending  his  labors. 

At  seven  o'clock,  Mr.  Moody  met  with  a  large  body  of  young 
converts  in  the  Free  South  Church,  and  addressed  to  them  a 
few  parting  words.  He  spoke  on  his  favorite  topic  of  "  con- 
fessing Christ,"  pleading  hard  with  those  who  had  lately  come  to 
Christ  to  come  boldly  forward  and  confess  Him. 

The  Music  Hall  was  crowded  to  excess  long  before  eight 
o'clock,  the  hour  at  which  Mr.  Moody  was  announced  to  give 
an  address,  the  passages,  orchestra,  and  galleries  being  quite 
packed.  *'  Except  a  man  be  born  again  he  cannot  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,"  was  the  text  on  which  Mr.  Moody  based 
his  discourse.  Christ  did  not  say  these  words  to  a  drunkard, 
to  a  thief,  to  a  harlot,  but  to  a  man  who  in  our  days  would  be 
made  a  D.D.  or  an  LL.D. 

After  referring  to  the  oflen-doubted  possibility  of  sudden 
conversions  by  those  who  could  not  understand  it,  even  although 
there  were  living  evidences  of  it  before  them,  he  bade  the  meet- 
ing farewell,  with  the  hope  that  they  would  all  meet  on  the 
shores  of  sternity. 


Il8  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT   BRITAIN. 

Mr.  Moody  stayed  in  the  hall  conversing  with  anxious 
inquirers  until  about  ten  o'clock,  when  he  drove  to  a  men's 
meeting  in  Trinity  Free  Church,  which  had  gathered  at  nine 
o'clock  in  the  expectation  that  Mr.  Moody  would  give  them  a 
farewell  address.  In  the  course  of  the  few  sentences  he  spoke 
to  them,  Mr.  Moody  said  they  could  have  no  idea  of  the  influ- 
ence the  Aberdeen  men's  meetings  had  had  in  other  places  he 
had  visited.  In  all  of  the  towns  the  example  of  Aberdeen  had 
been  followed,  and  large  bands  of  young  men  were  enlisted  in 
evangelistic  work. 

A  number  of  the  young  men  then  retired  with  Mr.  Moody 
into  an  ante-room,  to  hold  private  conversation  with  him,  and 
he  continued  to  converse  with  them  until  it  was  time  to  go  and 
prepare  for  his  journey  to  Wick  by  steamer. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  an  open  air  evangelistic  service  was 
held  on  Craig  Castle  lawn,  conducted  by  Mr.  Moody.  The 
weather  in  the  early  part  of  the  day  was  very  unpropitious, 
heavy  showers  descending,  with  brief  intervals,  until  four  p.m., 
when  the  rain  ceased,  and  it  continued  fair  during  the  evening. 
The  wet  detained  not  a  few  at  their  homes,  no  doubt,  but  most 
of  those  who  came  seemed  to  have  determined  to  be  present  in 
any  case  ;  and  by  five  o'clock  a  very  large  company — especially 
taking  into  account  the  thinly-peopled  districts  from  which  they 
had  gathered — had  assembled  on  the  beautiful  lawn  in  front  of 
the  castle.  Every  valley  and  hamlet  within  a  radius  of  ten 
miles  sent  its  company  in  gig,  cart,  or  afoot,  until  at  five  o'clock 
about  2,500  people  stood  on  the  lawn.  The  gathering  resembled 
somewhat  one  of  the  Covenanter  hill-side  meetings,  save  that 
while  the  Bibles  were  still  present,  the  broadswords  were  alto- 
gether absent ;  and  the  rendezvous,  instead  of  being  a  wild, 
rocky  pass,  was  a  hospitable  castle,  with  its  fairy  dell  and  leap- 
ing linn,  celebrated  in  song,  and  known  as  one  of  the  loveliest 
spots  in  Scotland. 

The  beauty  of  the  scene  seemed  specially  to  move  Mr.  Moody, 
who  referred  to  it  in  his  discourse,  which  was  one  of  peculiar 
beauty,  power,  and  pathos.  Standing  in  an  open  carriage  placed 
near  a  lowering  tree,  the  preacher  spoke  for  nearly  an  hour  from 


THE    REVIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND,  ug 

the  parable  of  the  marriage  feast.  A  very  marked  impression 
was  produced,  and  many  retired  at  the  close  of  the  service  for 
conversation  with  the  preacher  and  other  ministers  and  friends. 

The  Craig  gathering  of  August,  1874,  will,  we  believe,  be 
ever  memorable  to  not  a  few  as  *'  the  beginning  of  days  "  to 
them. 

"  I  must  say,"  said  Dr.  H.  Bonar,  "  that  I  have  not  seen  or 
heard  any  impropriety  or  extravagance.  I  have  heard  sound 
doctrine,  sober,  though  sometimes  fervent  and  tearful  speech 
the  utterance  of  full  hearts  yearning  over  the  wretched,  and 
beseeching  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  That  I  should 
accord  with  every  statement  and  fall  entirely  in  with  every  part 
of  their  proceeding  need  not  be  expected.  Yet  I  will  say  that 
I  have  not  witnessed  anything  sensational  or  repulsive.  Du- 
ring the  spiritual  movement  which  took  place  in  Scotland  about 
thirity  years  ago,  in  most  of  which  I  had  part,  I  saw  more  of 
what  was  extreme,  both  in  statement  and  proceeding,  than  I 
have  done  of  late.  There  was  far  more  of  excitement  then  than 
there  is  now.  The  former  movements  depended  far  more  upon 
vehement  appeals,  and  were  carried  along  more  by  the  sympa- 
thetic current  of  human  feeling  than  the  present.  When  the 
present  movement  began,  I  feared  lest  there  should  be  a 
repetition  of  some  of  the  scenes  which  I  had  witnessed  in 
other  days,  and  I  did  not  hesitate  to  express  my  fear  to 
brethren.  My  fears  have  not  been  realized.  I  have  been  as 
regular  in  my  attendance  at  the  meetings  as  I  could,  though  I 
will  not  say  that  there  was  nothing  which  I  might  not  have 
wished  different,  yet  I  have  been  struck  with  the  exceeding 
calmness  at  all  times — the  absence  of  excitement — the  peaceful 
solemnity  pervading  these  immense  gatherings  of  two  or  three 
thousand  people,  day  by  day — the  strange  stillness  that  at 
times  so  overawed  us  ;  and  I  felt  greatly  relieved  at  the 
absence  of  those  audible  manifestations  of  feeling  common  in 
former  days.  Rowland  Hill  was  once  asked  the  question, 
*  When  do  you  intend  to  stop  ? '  '  Not  till  we  have  carried  all 
before  us.'  So  say  our  brethren  from  Chicago.  W^e  say 
Amen.     This  needy  world   says    Amen.     Human   wickedness 


I20  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

and  evil  say  Amen.  Heaven  and  earth  say  Amen.  The  work 
IS  great  and  the  time  is  short  But  the  strength  is  not  of  man 
but  of  God." 

And  after  more  than  two  years  have  passed  by,  the  -reat 
results  continue  to  appear,  and  the  wave  of  holy  influence"  has 
swept  with  purifying  energy  over  all  that  land. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 
The  Evangelists  in  Ireland. 

At  his  last  Bible-reading  Mr.  Moody  said  that,  in  considering 
what  should  be  the  subject,  he  thought,  What  was  it  he  wanted 
most  himself?  When  nine  months  ago  he  came  to  Scotland,  a 
perfect  stranger,  he  felt  utterly  powerless,  and  could  only  have 
been  sustained  by  the  Holy  Spirit's  help;  now,  when  he  was 
going  to  Ireland,  he  felt  just  the  same ;  and  if  he  attempted  to 
go  there  resting  upon  the  grace  given  for  Scotland  he  should  fail. 
He  needed  a  fresh  anointing  for  this  new  service. 

In  this  spirit  of  entire  reliance  upon  the  Lord,  Mr.  ^Moody  con- 
templated the  Irish  field.  God  honors  those  who  honor  Him. 
We  shall  see  how  much  this  confidence  in  the  Lord  was  justified 
by  the  results  of  efforts  in  Ireland. 

It  would  seem  that  after  fourteen  months  of  such  toil,  they  might 
well  have  taken  a  little  rest.  But  Ireland  was  calling  them  ;  and 
bidding  farewell  to  Scotland,  they  proceeded  to  Belfast,  where 
they  held  their  first  meetings  on  Sunday,  Sept.  6,  1874. 

The  work  had  a  good  commencement  in  Belfast.  Numbers 
thronged  and  crushed  to  the  churches,  so  much  so  that  the  happy 
plan  was  adopted  of  dividing  the  meetings,  and  holding  gatherings 
for  women  only  at  two  o'clock,  and  for  men  only  at  eight  o'clock. 
Consequently,  the  large  churches  are  well  filled,  without  any 
unseemly  disorder. 

On  Friday  Mr.  Moody  addressed  looth  meetings,  taking  for 
bis  te.\t,  "  The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
6  121 


122  MOODY   AND   SAXKEY    IN    GRKcVT    BRITAIN. 

which  was  lost."  With  great  power  and  aptitude  he  proclaimed 
the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  "Seeker;"  and  very  touchingly  he  con- 
vinced the  people  that  He  was  now  seeking  each  individualh , 
seeking  to  save  and  to  bless  them.  Mighty  Faith,  then,  appears 
to  be  the  secret  of  Mr.  Moody's  power.  On  the  hearers  he  urges 
decision,  now  to  believe,  instant  salvation  on  faith  in  Jesus  only. 
His  address  was  interspersed  with  telling  illustrations,  which 
came  right  home  to  every  heart.  He  rapidly  referred  to  the  par- 
able of  the  lost  sheep  and  lost  piece  of  silver,  and  graphically 
narrated  the  sudden  conversion  of  Zaocheus,  unmistakably  evi- 
denced by  the  immediate  fruit  of  the  Spirit  in  his  change  from  an 
extortioner  to  a  restitutor.  Mr.  Sankcy's  very  sweet  solos  and 
touching  hymns,  accompanied  on  the  American  harmonium, 
seemed  to  exercise  a  powerful  effect  in,  as  it  were,  deepening  the 
impression  of  the  ^^ord. 

The  large  church,  which  holds  2,000,  was  filled  with  women  of 
all  classes ;  and  the  one  which  holds  1,500  had  every  seat  occu- 
pied with  men.  They  were  mostly  shopkeepers  and  mechanics, 
and  a  large  proportion  such  as  do  not  regularly  attend  churches. 
After  the  evening  meeting  the  Christians  were  invited  to  remain 
and  pray  for  the  speakers  to  the  anxious,  and  the  inquirers  were 
directed  to  side  apartments,  of  which  several  were  filled  with 
those  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  was  convincing  of  sin,  and  of  the 
need  of  the  seeking  Saviour.*  Thus,  while  such  a  glorious  work 
as  has  been  witnessed  in  Scotland  has  not  yet  taken  place 
in  Belfast,  a  sweet  and  encouraging  commencement  has  been 
made. 

The  interest  in  the  meeting  in  the  evening  is  increasing.  From 
fifty  to  a  hundred  remain  each  evening,  under  anxiety  of  soul, 
desiring  to  be  pointed  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world.  These  are  found  of  all  classes,  and  of  all 
shades  of  moral  and  religious  character — backsliders,  notorious 
sinners,  moral  young  men,  whose  consciences  are  yet  tender,  and 
skeptics,  whose  hearts  have  been  blasted  as  by  an  east  wind.  The 
majority  of  the  inquirers  are  young  men.  This  is  a  special,  and 
I  may  add  a  most  hopeful,  feature  of  the  work.     Many  seem 


THE    EVANGELISTS    IN    IRELAND. 


123 


clearly  to  have  embraced  the  offered  gift,  and  to  be  rejoicing  in 
God. 

On  Sabbath  Mr.  Moody  held  a  meeting  for  Christian  workers 
at  the  early  hour  of  eight,  and  notwithstanding  the  hour  tlie 
place  was  crowded,  so  much  so  that  the  overflow  filled  an  adjoin- 


^mg  room.    The  address  was  touching  entire  consecration  to  God, 


and  more  whole-hearted  activity  in  His  service.  An  open-air 
meeting  was  advertised  for  half-past  two  o'clock.  It  was  held 
in  an  open  space,  in  the  midst  of  the  mill-workers  of  our  town. 
Few,  if  any,  of  the  thousands  who  attended  that  meeting  will  ever 
forget  it.  Very  many,  I  believe,  will  remember  it  with  joy  in 
the  Father's  home  on  high.  The  attendance  was  great,  estimated 
variously  at  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand !  The  weather  was 
exceedingly  favorable.  Mr.  Sankey  sang  "Jesus  of  Nazareth 
passeth  by."  While  he  did  so  I  could  observe  in  the  glistening 
eye,  and  the  deep  sighs  of  many  around  where  I  stood,  tliat  it 
was  even  so. 

As  time  advances,  this  gracious  work  of  God  seems  to  extend 
and  deepen  rapidly.  On  Tuesday  the  experiment  was  tried  of 
holding  a  meeting  in  the  evening  exclusively  for  women,  in  order 
to  reach  the  case  of  workers  in  mills  and  warehouses.  More 
than  an  hour  before  the  time  of  meeting,  the  streets  around  were 
packed  with  a  dense  mass  of  women ;  and  when  the  gates  were 
opened  the  place  was  filled  almost  in  a  moment ;  and  after  that, 
with  the  overflow,  three  large  churches.  In  all  these  meetings 
the  anxious,  willing  to  be  spoken  to,  were  more  than  could  be 
overtaken.  We  have  reached  a  blessed  difficulty — our  inability 
to  find  Christian  workers  in  sufficient  number,  who  are  able  and 
willing  to  point  the  seeking  sinner  to  the  Lamb  of  God. 

The  number  of  stran^rers  who  from  lon<i  distances  visit  Belfast 
to  attend  the  mid-day  meetings  is  daily  increasing.  In  this  way 
the  work  is  already  extending,  and,  I  trust,  will  cover  the  whole 
island.  At  its  present  stage  of  progress,  the  most  marked  fea- 
tures are  desire  to  hear  the  Word  of  God,  willingness  to  be  spoken 
to  upon  the  state  of  the  soul,  frank  confession  on  the  part  of  many 
that  they  do  not  savingly  know  Jesus  ;  and,  most  blessed  ol  n"\ 


124  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

the  equall)-  frank  confession  on  the  part  of  many  that  they  have 
*' found  Him  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law  and  the  prophets  did 
write,  Jesus  of  Nazareth." 

To-day  the  mid-day  meeting  is  solely  for  professing  Christians 
— the  subject,  "  Assurance."  In  the  evening  the  meeting  is 
intended  for  such  only  as  are  seeking  Jesus.  Mr.  Moody  has 
adopted  these  expedients  because  of  the  want  of  any  hall  or 
building  sufficient  to  contain  the  crowds  seeking  admission. 

Intense  calm  and  deep  earnestness  characterized  all  the  meet- 
ings. The  Holy  Spirit  was  poured  out,  not  with  a  rushing  wind, 
but  in  a  still,  small  voice.  An  unusual  proportion  of  fine  young 
men  waited  to  be  conversed  with  in  the  inquiry-rooms.  All 
seemed  to  feel  there  are  but  the  two  classes,  the  saved  and  the 
lost. 

Various  were  the  difficulties  felt  by  inquirers,  but  all  such  as 
anxious  souls  have  expressed  from  time  to  time.  Some  could 
not  understand  what  "  coming  to  Christ "  is ;  others  had  previ- 
ously come,  but  were  staggered  because  they  had  not  the  com- 
plete mastery  of  sin  ;  others,  again,  had  not  felt  a  sufficient  sense 
of  danger.  Warm-hearted  and  experienced  Christians  listened 
to  the  difficulties  of  each  and  all,  and  were  in  most  cases  enabled 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  speak  the  suited  word  and  remove  the 
stumbling-blocks. 

The  open-air  meeting  was  attended  by  numbers  variously  esti- 
mated at  from  10,000  to  20,000.  The  fundamental  truths  of  the 
gospel  were  forcibly  put  and  ably  illustrated.  Many  were  bathed 
in  tears.  Multitudes  of  careless  men  and  women  have  been 
awakened. 

Singing  bears  a  most  important  part  in  the  work  of  God. 
Deeply  effective  are  Mr.  Sankcy's  solos,  not  only  in  touching  the 
heart's  affections,  but  in  deepening  the  impressions  made  by  the 
Word.  The  solo  "  Too  Late,"  following  on  Mr.  Moody's  address 
on  the  despair  of  the  lost  in  hull,  had  the  most  solemn  cftect. 
The  wail,  "OIi  !  lut  us  in  ;  oh !  let  us  in,"  and  the  awful  response, 
"'I'oo  late  !  too  l.itc  !  you  cannot  enter  now,"  are  cnou-h  to  wring 
llie  inmost  soul  of  every  wavering  and  undecided  sinner. 


THE    EVANGELISTS    IN    IRELAND. 


125 


A  meeting  for  inquirers  only  was  arranged  to  be  held  in  the 
evening  of  the  same  day,  in  the  Ulster  Hall,  the  largest  public 
building  we  have.  Admission  to  this  meeting  was  strictly  lim- 
ited to  those  professing  anxiety  to  find  Jesus.  Christian  workers 
were  admitted  by  ticket,  a  method  adopted  to  avoid  the  mistake 
too  often  made  at  such  meetings  of  allowing  incompetent  or  im- 
proper persons  to  engage  in  such  work.  There  is  not  one  Chris- 
tian in  a  hundred  fitted  for  this  most  delicate  and  difficult  service, 
requiring,  as  it  does,  close  communion  with  Jesus,  much  knowl- 
edge of  the  human  heart,  and  very  clear  views  of  gospel  truth, 
and  not  less  a  desire  to  know  nothing,  and  to  speak  of  nothing, 
save  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified. 

While  all  this  is  true,  it  is  equally  true  that  none  are  oftener 
blessed  in  this  work  than  young  converts,  while  their  virgin  love 
is  yet  fresh,  and  their  faith  clear  and  simple.  There  was  at  the 
meeting  for  inquirers  an  attendance  of  some  500 — this  in  addition, 
it  may  be  noticed,  to  many  meetings  of  like  kind  held  in  various 
churches  at  the  close  of  the  evening  service.  It  was  very  touch- 
ing and  stimulating,  when  an  opportunity  was  given  by  Mr.  Moody 
at  the  close  of  the  meeting,  to  hear  many  young  men  read  out,  in 
trembling  tones,  and  yet  wdth  beaming  countenances,  some  pre- 
vious promise  of  the  Word  of  God.  It  seemed  like  throwing  out 
a  life-buoy  to  the  struggling  ones  around,  who  were  swimming  for 
life  in  the  waters  of  death — like  the  letting  down  of  a  cord  to  the 
prisoners  in  the  pit  in  which  there  is  no  water.  Subsequent 
information  in  the  young  men's  meeting  proved  that  these  truths 
were  laid  hold  of  savingly  by  not  a  few  that  Sabbath  night  in  the 
Ulster  Hall. 

On  Sabbath  night  we  had  our  first  meeting  for  young  men, 
from  nine  till  ten  o'clock.  To  the  surprise  of  all  of  us,  there  were 
about  1,500  present.  The  beginning  is  a  special  work,  which,  I 
trust,  will  spread  as  in  Glasgow.  There  had  been  during  the 
spring  a  very  marked  work  among  the  young  men  in  Belfast,  in 
connection  with  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  Now  it 
has  been  deepened  and  greatly  extended. 

During  the  week  the  tide  of  spiritual  life  seemed  to  increase 


126  MOODY   AND   SANKEV    IN   GREAT   BRITAIN. 

each  da}'.  The  Bible-readings  at  two  o'clock  have  been  full  of 
interest,  specially  stimulating  to  many  whose  spiritual  life  had 
hitherto  been  very  dormant. 

The  manifestations  of  the  Spirit's  presence  and  power  were 
very  marked.  In  the  earlier  days  of  the  movement,  of  the  many 
who  were  deeply  convinced  of  sin,  comparatively  few  seemed  to 
come  to  rest  and  peace  and  faith  in  Jesus.  It  seemed  as  if  a 
higher  tide  of  the  Spirit's  power  were  needed  to  guide  them 
through  the  quicksands  of  difficulty,  and  over  the  bar  of  doubt 
and  distrust,  into  the  haven  of  rest. 

This  week,  we  thank  God,  it  is  otherwise.  We  can  say  with 
thanksgiving  concerning  many,  "  They  which  have  believe'd  do 
enter  into  rest." 

The  meeting  for  the  young  was  ver}''  striking.  Mr.  Moody  pre- 
sided. The  truth  seemed  to  reach,  in  the  Spirit's  power,  many 
young  hearts.  A  meeting  for  boys  under  fifteen  has  been  organ- 
ized. Some  of  the  cases  in  it  are  exceedingly  touching,  affording, 
I  conceive,  illustrations  of  the  work  of  God  upon  the  human 
heart  in  its  simplest  and  deepest  form.  This  meeting  for  boys 
assembles  every  evening  now  at  half-past  seven. 

On  Monday  we  had  no  meeting — rather,  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  meetings,  I  shall  venture  to  say,  ever  held  in  Belfast. 
Fisherwick  Place  Church  was  open  for  inquirers  from  two  till  ten 
o'clock.  Mr.  Moody  and  other  Christian  workers  were  occupied 
all  that  time  in  pointing  sinners  to  the  Lamb  of  God.  It  is  im- 
possible to  say  how  many  wounded  spirits  were  conversed  with 
during  the  day.  Many  very  experienced  Christians,  who  have 
seen  much  of  the  Lord's  work  in  other  years,  declare  they  never 
saw  a  meeting  like  it. 

It  was  a  sight  which  would,  I  think,  have  drawn  tears  of  *oy 
from  any  heart,  to  see  upward  of  200  young  men,  the  very  ilower 
of  our  youth,  one  after  another  acknowledging  the  yoke  of  Jesusi. 
Passing  just  across  the  street,  I  entered  May  Street  Church, 
where  more  than  1,000  men  were  assembled  to  hear  the  glad 
tidings  of  great  joy. 

In  order  that  as  many  as  possible  might  have  an  opportunity 


THE    EVANGELISTS    IN    IRELAND.  12/ 

of  hearing  the  gospel  at  these  special  services,  admission  on  Tues- 
day night  was  by  tickets,  given  only  to  such  as  had  not  hitherto 
heard  Mr.  Moody.  About  3,000  tickets  were  given  on  personal 
application.  It  was  a  season  to  be  remembered.  The  soil,  so  to 
speak,  was  virgin;  the  attention  so  marked  as  to  be  almost  pain- 
ful in  its  silence ;  the  presence  of  God  very  powerful  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  every  spiritual  mind.  The  inquirers  at  the  close  of 
the  meeting  were  spoken  to,  as  far  as  they  could  be  overtaken, 
in  adjacent  churches,  to  which  the  men  and  women  were  sent 
respectively. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  the  great  contrast  in  outward  manifes- 
tation between  the  present  work  and  that  of  1859.  I  have  not 
heard  of  or  noticed  any  physical  excitement— not  even  an  outcry, 
much  less  what  were  then  known  as  "  prostrations." 

Here  let  me  say,  it  has  been  most  noteworthy  that  during  the 
last  weeks,  while  we  have  had  most  inclement  weather,  every 
Sabbath-day,  and  at  the  hour  of  our  great  gatherings,  it  has  beea 
all  that  could  be  desired. 

The  number  in  attendance  was  fully  equal  to  any  preceding 
Sabbath.  It  may  give  you  some  idea  of  the  multitude  if  I  state 
that  the  field  on  which  the  meeting  was  held  contains  about  six 
acres,  and  that  the  people  stood  densely  packed  from  one  end  to 
the  other.  There  was  profound  solemnity.  The  impression  upon 
the  hearts  of  the  people  by  the  truth  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit 
was  very  deep,  as  the  sequel  will  show. 

l^r.  Moody  held  his  usual  meeting  on  Sabbath  evening  for 
those  in  deep  distress  about  salvation,  and  for  those  who  had 
found  eternal  life  during  the  past  weeks  through  faith  in  Jesus. 
The  meeting  was  exclusively  for  men,  and  admission  solely  by 
ticket.  The  hall  in  which  it  was  held  was  completely  filled.  Mr. 
Moody  stated  in  the  noon-day  prayer-meeting  on  Monday  that, 
in  his  judgment,  it  was  the  most  rcviarkable  meeting  he  has  had  yet 
171  Europe.  To  God  be  all  the  praise  !  One  after  another  of 
these  young  men — and  they  comprise  the  very  flower  of  our 
youth — rose,  and,  with  clearness  and  wonderful  felicity  of  expres- 
sion, in  burning  words,  declared  what  God  had  done  for  his  soul. 
At  length,  at  nine  o'clock,  the  meeting  was  closed. 


128  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Meanwhile  another  meeting  of  men  was  assembling  m  a  church. 
It  was  already  very  nearly  filled  when  we  heard  the  tread  of  a 
large  company  approaching.  It  was  a  phalanx  of  these  redeemed 
jyouths.  They  sang  the  new  song.  In  a  spontaneous  burst  of 
praise  they  were  telling  forth  the  wonders  of  redeeming  love.  No 
language  can  describe  the  scene.  The  heavenly  echoes  of  that 
burst  of  praise,  I  think,  will  never  be  forgotten  by  any  who  heard 
it.  The  meeting  that  followed,  consisting  of  some  two  thousand 
men,  I  need  not  say,  was  one  of  profound  interest — Jvisus  in  the 
midst,  and  the  marching  glorious. 

During  each  day  of  this  week,  and  at  ever}^  gathering,  more 
and  more  of  the  presence  of  the  God  of  salvation  has  been  mani- 
fested. Let  me  in  a  sentence  or  two  describe  one  which,  in  sober 
language,  was  most  wonderful.  Mr.  Moody  addressed  on  Mon- 
day evening  in  Fisherwick  Place  Church,  a  meeting  of  men.  At 
the  close  of  his  address  all  who  had  recently  been  found  by  the 
Good  Shepherd,  and  also  all  who  were  seeking  Him,  were 
requested  to  retire  to  the  adjoining  lecture-room.  Some  six 
hundred  men  did  so.  Mr.  Moody  again  sifted  them,  by  request- 
ing that  those  only  who  were  deeply  anxious  to  be  saved  should 
adjourn  to  another  room.  Probably  nearly  three  hundred  did  so. 
In  breathless  stillness  Mr.  Moody  addressed  them,  very  briefly 
stating  that  he  could  do  no  more  for  them — that  they  had  heard 
the  gospel,  and  that  it  was  for  themselves  to  decide.  He  called 
upon  them  to  kneel  and  pray  for  themselves.  They  bowed  as 
one  man,  and  now  here  and  now  there  might  be  heard  the  short 
cry  for  mercy — a  few  earnest  words  of  supplication ;  probably 
about  thirty  or  forty  so  cried  to  God  one  after  the  other.  Surely 
the  Lord  is  in  this  place!  was  the  thought  which  rose  in  holy 
fear  in  the  hearts  of  all. 

After  a  short  prayer  by  Mr.  Moody,  he  addressed  them  very 
faithfully.  He  again  held  forth  Christ,  and  invited  all  to  rise 
who  felt  that  they  could  there  and  then  accept  Jesus.  All  of  that 
large  company,  save  twenty  or  thirty,  stood  up,  and  solemnly 
avouched  the  Lord  to  be  their  God.  This  wonderful  sight  cannot 
be  described.     The  glory  of  it  cannot  be  realized,  even  by  those 


THE    EVANGELISTS    IN    IRELAND.  I2q 

best  acquainted  with  divine  things.  If  llierc  is  joy  in  heaven 
over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  what  siiall  we  say  of  the  gladness 
in  the  Father's  house  when  the  prodigals  in  companies  of  some 
two  hundred  enter,  as  it  were,  at  once? 

Thursday,  October  8,  we  had  fixed  for  a  gathering  of  the 
masses  in  the  open  air.  Many  had  fears  for  the  weather,  but 
much  prayer  in  many  places  over  the  three  kingdoms  was  offered 
to  God  for  the  success  of  the  meeting.  God  did  for  us  above 
what  we  asked.  The  weather  was  splendid  ;  everything  as  re- 
gards order  and  decorum  all  that  any  of  us  could  wish.  It  was 
the  largest  open-air  meeting  I  ever  attended.  I  cannot  pretend 
to  fix  a  limit  to  the  numbers.  He  who  counts  the  stars  knew  the 
history  of  each  present,  and  what  were  the  dealings  of  his  heart 
with  Christ  and  the  free  offer  of  His  salvation.  The  only  regret 
that  seemed  to  be  expressed  by  any  was,  that  the  services  were 
so  short. 

Mr.  Moody  addressed  the  vast  multitude  from  the  words,  *'  I 
pray  thee,  have  me  excused."  With  graphic  felicity,  great  clear- 
ness, and  soul-piercing  power,  he  exposed  the  miserable  pre- 
tences by  which  sinners  impose  upon  themselves  in  refusing  a 
present  offer  of  present  blessedness.  The  address  seemed  to 
strike  with  convicdng  power  many  consciences,  and,  from  many 
instances  coming  under  my  own  observation  at  the  inquiry-meet' 
ing  in  Fisherwick  Place  Church,  I  have  reason  to  believe  in  sal- 
vation power. 
}  The  great  gathering  in  the  Botanic  Gardens  on  October  8  has 
been  our  crowning  mercy  in  this  season  of  blessing.  We  feel  as 
if  every  prayer  had  been  heard  and  every  heart  gratified  by  our 
gracious  God.  As  the  days  pass,  and  as  tidings  reach  us  from 
the  country  districts  all  around,  we  continually  hear  of  rich 
blessings  bestowed  and  of  precious  fruits  following.  Many  car- 
ried with  them  to  their  homes  the  spark  of  renewed  life.  That 
spark  has,  in  some  cases,  already  burnt  into  a  blaze.  We  receive 
the  good  news  from  many  places  of  great  readiness  to  hear  the 
Word  of  God,  and  the  cry,  "Come  over  and  help  us,"  reaches 
us  from  many  quarters. 


130  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Our  dear  American  brethren  left  us  on  Saturday  for  Deny. 
Tidings  have  reached  us  that  a  great  and  effectual  door  was 
opened  unto  them  in  that  city. 

Messrs.  ^Moody  and  Sankey  returned  from  Derry  this  morning 
(October  15)  to  hold  their  final  meeting  ere  passing  on  to  Dub- 
lin. Mr.  Moody  presided  at  the  noon-day  prayer-meeting.  The 
subject  was,  "Lessons  from  the  Life  of  Jacob."  The  meeting 
was  one  of  great  interest.  The  meeting  in  the  evening  was  held 
in  St.  Enoch's  Church.  It  was  exclusively  for  sinners  tinder 
anxiety  of  soul,  who  professed  to  be  earnestly  seeking  Jesus. 
Admission  was  by  tickets,  and  that,  moreover,  on  personal  appli- 
cation. 

Readers  may  judge  of  the  depth  of  the  movement  and  the 
measure  of  awakening  power  upon  the  souls  of  men  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  when  I  state  that  upward  of  2,400  persons  were  so  ad- 
mitted !  It  was  Mr.  Moody's  last  appeal  in  Belfast  to  the  Christ- 
less.  I  may  not  attempt  to  describe  the  scene  !  He  set  before 
the  anxious,  sin-stricken  multitude,  Jesus  in  all  the  glory  of  His 
sufficiency — in  all  the  attractions  of  His  dying  love.  He  showed 
Him,  as  with  one  foot  upon  the  threshold  of  the  heart  He  sought 
admission.  Now  in  foithful  and  firm  words  he  warned  them  of 
the  dangers  of  delay ;  and  now  he  gently  moved  them,  in  tender- 
ness, as  one  whom  his  mother  comforteth.  At  length  he  ceased 
speaking,  that  each  might  hear,  in  the  silence,  the  voice  of  Jesus 
pleading  directly.  And  in  the  awful  stillness  of  that  moment 
many  of  that  great  company  of  seeking  sinners,  I  trust,  were  able 
to  say  in  words  expressive  of  soul-submission,  "  Speak,  Lord,  for 
thy  servant  heareth." 

I  think  it  must  have  been  the  most  notable  meeting  in  the 
experience  of  Mr.  Moody.  I  do  not  at  present  remember  to 
have  read  of  any  such  meeting,  as  regards  the  number  of  the 
Awakened,  in  modern  times.  Does  it  not  seem  like  a  return  of 
Pentecostal  power,  when  3,000  were  similarly  smitten  with  soul- 
concern? 

The  meeting  in  the  evening  was  for  the  young  converts— for 
all  who  have  reason  to  believe  that  they  had  found  Jesus  since 


THE    EVANGELISTS    IN    IRELAND.  j^i 

Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  came  to  Belfast.  Admission  was 
strictly  by  ticket.  These  tickets  were  only  given  on  personal 
application.  About  two  tliousand  one  hundred  and  fifty  tickets 
were  given!  What  a  rich  harvest!  How  soon  gathered!  The 
result  of  some  five  weeks'  work  !  I  have  good  reason  to  believe 
that  even  this  number  fell  very  far  short  of  the  whole  number  who 
profess  to  have  received  Jesus  as  the  gift  of  God. 

It  was  a  soul-stirring  sight  to  see  that  vast  multitude,  including 
the  Christian  workers  and  ministers,  numbering  more  than  3,000. 
It  was  like  the  sound  of  many  waters  to  hear  this  multitude  smg 
the  new  song.     As  all  stood  and  sung  in  one  burst  of  praise — 

"  O  happy  clay  that  fixed  my  choice 
On  Thee,  my  Saviour  and  my  God," 

the  effect  was  overpowering,  filling  the  soul  with  a  sweet  fore- 
taste of  the  praises  of  heaven. 

Mr.  Moody's  last  word  of  comfort  and  encouragement  was 
founded  on  Rom.  xiv.  4,  "  God  is  able  to  make  him  stand."  He 
closed  his  address  by  commending  all  the  new-born  souls  "  to 
Him  who  is  able  to  keep  you  from  falling."  Hundreds  of  mea 
not  used  to  a  melting  mood,  with  weeping  eyes  and  heaving 
bosoms,  heard  him  say,  as  he  concluded,  "  Good-night ;  we  shaU 
meet  in  the  morning  when  the  shadows  flee  away." 

A  very  touching  incident  in  the  service  was  the  singing,  by 
Mr.  Sankey,  of  a  hymn  composed  by  a  dying  youth  in  Belfast, 
*'  Is  there  room  ?  they  say  there  is  room  1 " 


CHAPTER     XV. 

The  Glory  of  God  in  Dublin. 

The  brethren  began  in  this  beautiful  capital  where  only  about 
4c,ooo,  or  one-sixth  of  the  population,  are  Protestant,  on  the  26th 
of  October,  and  continued  there  till  November  29.     Says  one  : 

"It  was  not  found  necessary  to  preach  those  sermons  which 
are  generally  used  as  a  preparation  for  revival.  The  revival 
commenced  immediately.  Dublin  had  been  waiting  to  hear  the 
Gospel  preached ;  and  its  people,  by  crowds,  when  they  heard 
it,  eagerly  pressed  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  From  all  over 
the  island,  multitudes  came  up  to  attend  the  meetings ;  many  of 
whom  went  home  happy  in  the  love  of  Christ.  One  woman  came 
a  hundred  miles  to  hear  Mr.  Moody  preach,  but  was  too  late  lo 
obtain  admission.  The  next  day,  however,  she  read  a  report 
of  his  sermon  in  a  morning  paper,  and  it  was  blessed  to  her  sal- 
vation. One  new  convert  wrote  a  letter  to  a  lady  friend,  and 
this  letter  was  the  means  of  her  conversion.  Then  she  read  it  to 
her  mother,  who  also  was  led  to  the  Saviour :  and  afterwards  her 
father  and  her  brothers,  all  by  reading  the  same  letter,  were 
induced  to  give  their  hearts  to  Christ." 

We  have  never  before  seen  such  sights  in  Dublin  as  we  have 
seen  this  last  week,  night  after  night,  at  the  Exhibition  Palace. 
It  is  estimated  to  hold  10,000  persons.  Every  night  it  is  filled, 
and  the  attention  and  silence  is  wonderful.  One  feels  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  is  present,  and  that  "a  wave  of  prayer"  is  contin- 
ually going  up  to  the  throne  from  the  Lord's  people. 

The  committee  of  management  procured  the  Exhibition  Pal- 
132 


THE    GLORY    OF   GOD    IN    DUnLIN. 


133 


ace  for  holding  these  services,  the  largest  and  most  commodious 
building  which  has  yet,  in  Europe,  been  placed  at  Mr.  Moody's 
disposal.  On  Sunday  last,  the  Christians  of  Dublin  wit- 
nessed a  sight  to  gladden  their  hearts.  It  has  been  estimated 
that,  at  the  first  service  at  four  o'clock,  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thou- 
sand persons  were  gathered  there.  Never  before  was  it  put  to  so 
blessed  a  use. 

Such  a  sight  has  never  before  been  witnessed  here  as  may  now 
be  seen  every  day — thousands  flocking  to  the  prayer-meeting 
and  the  Bible-meeting,  and  most  of  all  to  the  evening  services  in 
the  great  Exhibition  Palace.  It  is  a  sight  to  fill  the  heart  of  the 
child  of  God  with  deepest  emotion  to  stand  upon  the  platform 
erected  in  that  building,  from  which  Mr.  Moody  preaches,  and 
to  cast  one's  eye  over  the  vast  concourse  of  people,  hanging  on 
the  speaker's  lips,  as  in  burning  words  he  discourses  on  life  and 
death,  heaven  and  hell,  "  Jesus  and  His  love,"  and  one  cannot 
but  ask  the  question,  "What  is  the  magic  power  which  draws 
together  those  mighty  multitudes,  and  holds  them  spell-bound  t " 
Is  it  the  worldly  rank,  or  wealth,  or  learning,  or  oratory  of  the 
preacher  t  No ;  for  he  is  possessed  of  but  little  of  these  (spirit- 
ually, indeed,  he  is  richly  endowed  with  them  all).  It  is  the  sim- 
ple lifting  up  of  the  cross  of  Christ — the  holding  forth  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  before  the  eyes  of  the  people  in  all  the  glory  of  His  God- 
head, in  all  the  simplicity  of  His  manhood,  in  all  the  perfection 
of  His  nature,  for  their  admiration,  for  their  adoration,  and  for 
their  acceptance. 

For  some  time,  notwithstanding  the  huge  crowds,  our  brethren 
felt  that  they  were  not  reaping  heavy  sheaves  as  they  had  done 
elsewhere.  But  the  conviction  grows  upon  us  that  the  "  set  time  " 
to  favor  us  has  come.  The  work  is  deepening  and  widening 
every  day.  In  many  families  with  which  I  am  intimately 
acquainted,  one  or  more  of  the  members  have  hopefully  turned 
unto  the  Lord.  I  know  cases  in  which  I  may  say  the  whole  fam- 
ily has  been  brought  to  seek  salvation  as  the  one  thing  needful. 
It  is  very  observable,  too,  how  previously  existing  prejudice  has 
abated,  or  entirely  disappeared,  at  least  in  the  case  of  those  who 


134  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

manifest  any  respect  for  religion.  Tiiere  are,  of  course,  scoffers 
not  a  few.  But  it  is  tru.y  a  matter  of  astonishment  in  a  city  like 
this,  that  there  is  so  little  of  open  resistance  or  even  of 
ridicule. 

Our  Roman  Catholic  brethren,  as  a  rule,  have  acted  a  noble 
part.  They  have  been  respectful ;  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  sym- 
pathizing. In  this  week's  number  of  the  Nation — an  organ  at 
once  of  National  (as  it  is  called)  and  Ultramontane  principles — 
an  article  has  appeared  entitled  "  Fair  Play !  "  which  is  exceed- 
ingly creditable,  and  which  indicates  the  advent  of  a  new  day  in 
Ireland,  The  editor  informs  his  constituents  that  ^' the  deadly 
danger  of  the  age  comes  upon  us  from  the  direction  of  Huxley, 
and  Darwin,  and  Tyndall,  rather  than  from  Moody  and  Sankey. 
Irish  Catholics  desire  to  see  Protestants  deeply  imbued  with 
religious  feeling,  rather  than  tinged  with  rationalism  and  infidel- 
ity ;  and  as  long  as  the  religious  services  of  our  Protestant  neigh- 
bors are  honestly  directed  to  quickening  religious  thought  in 
their  own  body,  without  offering  aggressive  or  intentional  insult 
to  us,  it  is  our  duty  .to  pay  the  homage  of  our  respect  to  their  con- 
scientious convictions  ;  in  a  word,  to  do  as  we  would  be  done  by." 
(The  italics  are  the  JVation's.)  It  would  surely  be  a  bright  and 
blessed  day  for  our  country,  if  this  spirit  of  mutual  respect  and 
toleration  were  everywhere  honestly  acted  out  amongst  us.  Mr. 
Moody  never  makes  controversial  reference  to  others.  His  suc- 
cess in  attracting  the  favorable  attention  of  our  brethren  of  a 
different  faith  has  been  unexampled  in  the  history  of  our 
city. 

One  very  marked  feature  in  the  movement  is  the  number  of 
men  that  are  influenced.  Many  people  have  remarked  the 
large  proportion  of  them  that  are  inquiring. 

A  few  nights  ago  an  old  gentleman,  more  than  seventy  years 
of  age,  threw  himself  down  on  his  knees  and  sobbed  like  a  child. 
He  said,  "  I  was  utterly  careless  about  my  soul  till  last  night,  but 
I  liave  besn  so  unhappy  since,  I  could  not  sleep.  I  seemed  to  hear 
ringing  in  my  ears,  *  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  passing  by,'  and  if  I  don't 
get  saved  now,  I  never  shall  be." 


THE  GLORY  OF  COD  IN  DUBLIN. 


'35 


Already  the  influence  of  this  work  has  beg^iin  to  tell  upon  the 
most  remote  districts  of  the  country.  Parties  of  thirty,  fifty, 
sixty,  etc.,  are  being  organized  from  the  most  distant  parts  to 
Dublin.  Many  of  these  carry  back  with  them  much  blessing. 
We  hear  of  the  young  converts  witnessing  for  Christ  fearlessly  in 
the  trains  on  their  way  home  from  their  meetings.  "The  Lord 
hath  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad."  But  we  ex- 
pect greater  things  still.  I  am  fully  confident,  from  all  the  indi- 
cations I  see,  that  next  week  will  be  likely  greatly  to  surpass 
the  previous  delightful  weeks  we  have  had.  The  memory  of 
these  blessed  meetings  in  the  Metropolitan  Hall  and  the  Exhibi- 
tion building,  will  long,  yea,  will  ever  be  fragrant  in  our  hearts. 
I  do  not  think  we  had  ever  such  an  antepast  of  heaven. 

The  Public  Breakfast  given  to  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey 
yesterday  morning,  was,  in  every  way,  a  wonderful  meeting.  I 
heard  nearly  all  to  whom  I  spoke  on  the  subject,  sa^  it  was  the 
happiest  reunion  they  ever  attended.  It  was  a  truly  catholic 
gathering.  Eminent  men  among  us,  under  the  influence  of 
deep  emotion,  bore  testimony  to  the  spiritual  good  they  had 
received  at  the  meetings.  Ministers  testified  of  the  instruction 
and  quickening  that  had  come  to  them. 

No  men — ministers,  evangelists  or  others — ever  before  brought 
a  more  interested  assembly  around  them  in  Dublin  than  these 
honored  servants  of  the  Lord  did  yesterday  morning  in  the  Shel- 
bourne  Hotel.  And  yet  it  is  not  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey, 
but  the  Christ  they  preach  and  sing.  It  is  Christ  lifted  up  that 
draws  all  men  unto  Him.  Oh  that  we  might  all  learn  that  we 
have  I\ere  the  true  and  only  uniting  power  for  Ireland  ! 

I  can  confidently  say  that  the  work  here  intensifies  and  spreads 
every  day,  I  might  say  every  hour.  Some  of  our  more  timid  and 
cautious  friends  who  had  almost  never  come  in  contact  with  a 
great  religious  awakening,  were  fearful,  while  we  were  making  our 
preliminary  arrangements,  that  it  would  be  next  to  impossible  to 
keep  up  the  interest  of  the  people  for  a  month  or  more  ;  but  the 
fact  is,  the  interest  was  never  nearly  so  great  as  it  is  this  moment ; 
and  as  the  time   of  our  brethren's  departure  draws  near,   the 


136  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   GREAT    BRITAIN. 

eagerness  to  hear  their  ever>'  word  and  catch  their  every  song  is 
something  wonderful  to  see.  As  I  remarked  before,  this  eager- 
ness does  not  now  proceed  from  curiosity. 

At  all  the  meetings  yesterday,  the  attendance  was  enormous. 
It  is  a  very  healthful  sign  of  this  work,  that  the  daily  prayer-meet- 
ing continues  to  be  so  largely  attended,  although  neither  IMr. 
Moody  nor  Mr.  Sankey  usually  takes  a  very  prominent  part  in  it. 
The  requests  for  prayer  have  become  so  numerous,  that  it  has  been 
found  impossible  to  read  even  a  brief  classification  of  them.  The 
letters  have  for  some  days  been  "  spread  before  the  Lord,"  after 
the  example  of  good  King  Hezekiah,  the  meeting  uniting  in 
silent  entreaty  for  the  special  cases  sent  in. 

Hundreds  were  obliged  yesterday  to  go  away  disappointed  in 
their  efforts  to  get  into  the  Bible-reading  in  the  Metropolitan  Hall. 
Mr.  Moody  reserved  his  best  wine  to  the  last.  A  more  suggestive 
Bible-lecture  it  was  never  our  privilege  to  hear.  We  had  a  com- 
pendium of  some  half  a  dozen  Bible-readings.  The  great  bulk 
of  the  people,  ministers  included,  were  taking  notes.  It  is  given 
to  few  preachers  to  have  so  many  eager  reporters.  Many  a  good 
sermon  will  be  got  out  of  yesterday's  addresses.  One  minister 
remarked  that  it  was  as  good  as  an  addition  of  many  a  good  book 
to  his  library.  It  is  calculated  that  in  the  evening  there  were  not 
less  than  12,000  persons  assembled  in  the  Exhibition  building. 
There  is  not  a  Sabbath  service  in  any  congregation  in  Britain  in 
which  there  is  a  greater  solemnity  and  decorum  than  there  was  in 
that  vast  assembly.  The  sight  from  the  platform  of  these  earnest, 
and,  in  many  cases,  awe-stricken  thousands,  is  one  that  it  will  be 
impossible  for  us  ever  to  forget.  Some  one  remarked  to, me,  a 
day  or  two  ago,  how  significant  it  was  that  during  the  severe 
weather  of  last  week,  even  a  cough  was  scarcely  heard  in  that 
great-crowded  glass  building.  When  Mr.  Sankey  sings  the 
silence  is  sometimes  even  oppressive. 

We  are  now  engaged  in  giving  out  tickets  for  the  Thanksgiving 
meeting  to  be  held  on  Wednesday  evening,  the  last  night  Mr. 
Moody  has  promised  to  be  with  us.  The  tickets  are  given  only 
to  those  who  profess  to  have  been  brought  to  Christ  during  the 


THE   GLORY    OF    GOU    IN    DUliLIN.  1 37 

special  services.  We  are  very  careful  in  giving  these  lickets, 
though  I  doubt  not  there  may  be  many  stony-ground  hearers. 

We  have  had  the  help  in  this  work  of  some  of  the  most  experi- 
enced ministers  of  the  gospel  in  our  city  ;  and  the  general  impres- 
sion made  on  the  minds  of  the  brethren  who  have  taken  part  in  it, 
is  of  deep  and  intense  gratitude  for  the  many  indubitable  tokens 
of  the  presence  and  power  of  the  regenerating  Spirit  of  God. 
About  a  thousand  tickets  have  been  already  given  out ;  but  many 
of  the  converts  have  not  yet  applied. 

Arrangements  have  been  made  for  the  carrying  on  of  special 
prayer  and  evangelistic  meetings,  after  our  brethren  have  left. 
Leading  ministers  of  all  our  evangelical  churches  have  thrown 
themselves  heartily  into  these  arrangements.  We  have  felt  that 
it  is  a  good  thing — good  for  ourselves,  and  good  for  that  cause 
which,  with  all  our  imperfections,  is  dearer  to  us  than  life — for 
brethren  to  dwell  together,  and  work  together,  in  unity. 

The  labors  of  the  Evangelists  closed  with  a  three  days'  con- 
vention, which  was  attended  by  800  ministers,  from  all  parts  of 
Ireland,  besides  thousands  of  the  general  public.  The  first  day 
was  devoted  to  discussions  on  the  following  topics :  "  Praise 
and  Thanksgiving,"  "  How  are  the  masses  to  be  reached  .^ " 
"What  can  be  done  to  promote  the  Lord's  work  throughout  Ire- 
land ? "  etc.  The  second  day  was  signalized  by  a  gathering  of 
over  2,000  converts,  to  whom  Mr.  ]\Ioody  addressed  loving  coun- 
sels, and  on  the  third  day  there  was  another  gathering  of  the  min- 
isters in  Exhibition  Palace.  And  thus  terminated  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  gatherings  ever  held  in  Dublin.  Mutual  love 
and  courtesy  marked  all  the  proceedings.  Strangers  could  not 
tell  to  what  body  of  Christians  many  of  the  speakers  belonged. 

The  labors  of  the  evangelists  in  Ireland  were  ended,  and  on 
Sunday,  the  29th  of  November,  at  Manchester,  they  began  their 
new  work  in  England. 

The  happy  visit  of  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  to  Dublin  is 
now  a  thing  of  the  past.  These  men  of  God  are  gone  from  us, 
but  the  work  remains.     That  work  consists: 

I.  In  a  great  general  awakening  throughout   Dublin  and  its 


IjS  MOUDY    AND    SANKEY    IN'    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

neighbc»rhood.  Tiiis  is  a  fact  which  is  patent  to  all,  and  cannot 
be  gainsayed  or  denied.  It  is  a  fact  that  from  12,000  to  20,000 
persons  have  been  attracted  to  the  Exhibition  Palace  every  Sun- 
day afternoon  since  the  work  began  ;  that  the  attendance  at  the 
services  held  each  evening  in  the  same  place,  beginning  with 
some  5,00  D  people,  increased  each  evening  till  it  became  as  great 
as  on  the  Sundays ;  and  this  notwithstanding  an  audience  of 
from  2,000  to  2,500  had  been  in  daily  attendance  at  the  noon 
prayer-meeting  in  the  Metropolitan  Hall,  and  on  three  days  in 
each  week  at  the  Bible-readings  at  two  o'clock  in  the  same  place. 
What  has  been  the  great  attractive  power  which  has  drawn 
together  such  vast  multitudes  ?  Thank  God,  it  was  the  simple 
St  Uement  of  gospel  truth — the  old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and  His 
love,  plainly  and  lovingly  told. 

2.  The  bringing  in  of  so?ne  3,000  co7iverts  to  the  fold  of  Christ. 
Nearly  2,000  tickets  were  issued  to  those  who  professed  to  have 
found  the  Lord  Jesus  as  their  Saviour  since  these  services  began. 
To  these  must  be  added  the  many  hundreds  who  came  up  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  to  attend  the  services,  and  who  found  "joy 
and  peace  in  believing,"  some  of  whom  are  known  to  myself, 
besides  all  those  who  are  still  day  by  day  being  added  to  the  Lord. 

3.  The  quickening  and  refreshing  of  many  hundreds  of  ministers 
in  connection  with  the  convention  held  this  week.  It  was  a  happy 
thought  to  bring  so  many  ministers  of  the  various  evangelical 
denominations  together  at  this  time.  It  afforded  them  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  with  their  own  eyes  the  reality  of  this  great  work 
of  God  which  is  going  on  around  us,  getting  their  own  hearts 
warmed  up  afresh,  and  thus  of  becoming,  when  they  return  home, 
more  than  ever  centres  of  spiritual  light  and  heat  in  their  own 
parishes  and  districts. 

Says  a  well-informed  writer:  "The  finances  of  the  Dublin 
revival  are  worthy  of  special  attention.  Some  days  before 
Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  arrived,  three  or  four  gentlemen  met 
at  the  office  of  Mr.  David  Drummond  ;  and,  after  consultation 
and  prayer,  decided  to  send  out  a  circular,  saying  that  the  Amer- 
ican  evangelists  were  coming;  that  the  Great  Exliibition  Palaco 


THE   GLORY    OF    GOD    IN    DUBLIN.  I^g 

had  been  engaged  for  them  ;  and  that  money  would  be  wanted  to 
meet  the  large  expenses  attendant  upon  the  services.  It  was 
determined  to  ask  for  tlie  sum  of  ;^i,5oo;  and  circuhirs  for  this 
purpose  were  sent  out  to  five  or  six  thousand  o^  the  leading  citi 
zens  of  Dublin.  Only  two  instances  of  personal  solicitation  are 
mentioned ;  but  the  money  came  in  so  fast,  that  Mr.  Drummond, 
who  was  the  treasurer,  was  obliged  to  employ  a  clerk  to  keep  the 
record.  Old  ladies  would  come  in  Bath-chairs  to  bring  half  a 
crown.  People  in  high  life  came  in  carriages,  bringing  cheques 
or  gold.  Even  the  poor  desired  to  have  some  share  in  the  work, 
and  gave  their  pennies  and  half-pence.  By  some  means  the  sub- 
scription became  known  to  the  prisoners  in  a  certain  jail  in  the 
south  of  Ireland ;  and  they,  regretting  their  inability  to  be 
present,  sent  their  good  wishes,  and  a  little  collection  which  had 
been  raised  among  them,  to  the  amount  of  twenty-five  shillings. 
From  Protestants  and  Papists,  masters  and  servants,  the  contri- 
butions poured  in.  No  sum  larger  than  £$o  was  received.  A 
large  part  of  the  money  was  in  silver  and  copper;  but  the  full 
Amount  required  was  raised. 

"  Having  now  come  so  near  to  the  question  of  the  support  of 
Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey,  the  readers  of  this  work  will  natu- 
rally desire  to  know  something  on  that  interesting  topic.  Here 
let  it  be  said,  once  for  all,  that  these  brethren  do  not  work  for 
pay.  They  have  never  sought  an  invitation  ,  never  stipulated  for 
any  sum  of  money  to  be  given  them,  either  for  their  services  or 
expenses.  In  every  instance,  Mr.  Moody  determined  the  ques- 
tion of  going  to,  or  passing  by,  a  place,  under  the  direction,  as  he 
believed,  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  committees  which  invited 
him  have  held  the  matter  of  finance  entirely  in  their  own  hands. 
They  have  raised  the  money  as  they  pleased,  and  given  him  such 
sums  as  they  judged  suitable  ;  these  he  has  shared  with  Mr.  San- 
key ;  and  thus  they  have  labored  together,  taking  what  God  sent 
them — which  in  many  instances  has  been  very  little,  and  in  no 
case  very  much.  At  Dublin  the  committee  consulted  together, 
and  determined  to  give  Mr.  Moody  a  sum  of  money  which,  they 
afterwards  were  glad  to  learn,  \vas  in  excess  of  what  he  had 


140  MOODY    AND   SANK.EY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

received  hitherto ;  but  even  upon  the  proportion  of  this  generous 
gift,  the  American  cvangehsts  will  never  become  rich  out  of  their 
present  employment.  Still,  in  the  secular  press,  and  in  the  gossip 
of  the  streets  and  offices,  these  men  are  accused,  by  those  who 
know  nothing  of  them,  of  mercenary  motives  in  their  great  wcrk 
for  Christ. 

"  Only  a  little  while  ago  a  certain  newspaper  suggested  that  they 
were  an  advance-guard  sent  over  by  Barnum  ;  and  that  the  adver- 
tising scheme,  no  doubt,  would  presently  appear.  Another  equally 
discerning  party  had  heard  of  Mr.  Moody's  little  device  for  setting 
children  to  study  the  Bible,  which  he  calls  '  the  Gospel  clock.'  It 
consists  of  the  grouping  of  twelve  texts  of  Scripture  in  a  circle, 
containing  respectively  the  same  number  of  words  as  those  which 
mark  the  hours  upon  a  dial.  A  great  many  of  these  Gospel  clock- 
faces  have  been  arranged  by  the  little  people  to  their  no  small 
profit  and  delight.  But  the  individual  referred  to  saw  in  it  a  sug- 
gestion of  a  different  character.  'I  have  it  at  last/  said  he, 
'Moody  is  a  clock-maker  in  America,  and  this  is  the  beginning 
of  a  system  of  advertising,  by  which  he  means  to  sell  his  wares.' 

"  In  like  manner  Mr.  Sankey  has  been  assailed  as  an  agent  for 
the  sale  of  that  peculiar  make  of  harmoniums  which  he  uses  to 
accompany  his  singing.  But  it  is  scarcely  needful  to  say  that  no 
such  charge  can  be  properly  made  against  him." 


CHAPTER     XVI. 
The  Harvest  in  England. 

Thev  were  no  longer  the  strangers  who  first  struggled  for  a 
Iiearing  in  York,  but  brethren  "  beloved  and  longed  for  "  by  thou- 
sands who  had  not  yet  seen  their  faces  in  the  flesh.  Preparations 
at  Manchester,  whither  they  first  went,  were  intelligently  made 
for  the  successful  conduct  of  their  work,  and  we  soon  hear  the 
tidings  through  the  press  that  "  Manchester  is  now  on  fire." 

The  most  difficult  of  all  English  cities,  perhaps,  to  be  set  on 
fire  by  anything  but  politics,  is  now  fairly  ablaze,  and  the  flames 
are  breaking  out  in  all  directions. 

Free  Trade  Hall,  within  whose  walls  scenes  of  no  common 
interest  and  excitement  have  often  been  witnessed,  presented  a 
spectacle  such  as  those  who  beheld  it  will  not  easily  forget.  Dr 
McKerrow  assured  me  that  he  had  seen  no  such  sight,  even  in 
the  most  excited  political  times,  during  the  forty-seven  years  of 
his  life  in  Manchester,  as  that  which  he  saw  there  on  Sunday 
afternoon. 

The  building  was  densely  crowded.  Not  an  inch  of  standing- 
room  was  unoccupied.  Long  before  the  appointed  hour,  hun- 
dreds found  it  impossible  to  gain  admission.  And  Mr.  Moody 
— in  what  terms  shall  I  describe  his  address  ?  Theological  critics 
might  have  said  there  was  nothing  in  it;  but  only  eternity  will 
reveal  how  much  there  came  out  of  it.  I  should  not  be  surprised 
If  hundreds  of  conversions  should  result  from  that  single  mighty 
appeal.    Taking  for  his  text  the  first  question  addressed  to  them, 

141 


142  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

"  Where  art  thou  ? "  he  brought  it  home  to  the  bosom  of  every 
hearer  with  a  power  and  pathos  that  were  simply  irresistible. 
Having  referred  to  the  case  of  a  young  man  who  had  cried  out  in 
the  inquiry-room  on  Friday  night,  "Oh,  mother,  I  am  coming! " 
the  young  man  himself  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  exclaimed  in  tones 
of  impassioned  earnestness,  "  That  was  me  !  "  The  effect  was 
electrical.  Not  an  eye  but  was  suffused  with  tears.  The  whole 
vast  assembly  was  impressed  with  a  profound  sense  of  the  pres- 
ence and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  meeting  for  young  men  in  the  evening  was  equally  won- 
derful, no  fewer  than  seventy-one  having  remained  behind  as 
anxious  inquirers,  not  a  few  of  whom  went  home  rejoicing  in  the 
peace  of  God  that  passeth  understanding. 

There  is  only  one  sentiment,  I  feel  convinced,  in  the  hearts  of 
all  God's  children  in  this  vast  community  in  regard  to  this  great 
work,  and  that  is,  a  sentiment  of  devout  thankfulness  to  oui 
heavenly  Father  that  He  has  sent  among  us  two  such  men,  full 
of  faith  and  power,  and  yet  eminent  for  humility  and  lowliness  of 
mind.  "The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we 
are  glad." 

The  meetings  of  December  ii,  that  memorable  Lord's  day, 
gave  a  tone  of  solemnity  and  a  character  of  power  to  all  the  meet- 
ings of  the  week.  The  tide  rose  steadily  day  by  day,  until  it 
became  full,  overflowing  the  bank  in  all  directions — a  very  spring- 
tide of  blessing  ;  and  only  eternity  will  reveal  how  many  immor- 
tals are  now  launching  out  upon  its  waters  in  the  bark  of  a  simple 
trust  in  the  Son  of  God. 

The  evenings  of  Monday  and  Tuesday  in  the  Free  Trade  Hall 
will  long  be  remembered  by  the  thousands  who  were  present. 
Mr.  Moody  delivered  his  famous  discourses  on  Heaven.  Much 
as  we  have  read  and  heard  of  the  fervor  and  unction  that  charac- 
terize them,  we  were  net  prepared  to  find  these  apostolic  qualities 
in  so  superlative  a  degree  as  that  which  marked  them  pn  this 
occasion.  The  second  was  especially  interesting  and  delightful, 
treating  as  it  did  of  the  society  and  the  treasure  of  heaven  ;  and 
the  contrast  drawn  by  tJie  preacher  between  these  and  the  trea- 


THE  HARVEST  IN  ENGLAND. 


43 


surcs  and  society  of  tliis  world,  seemed  to  strike  tlic  minds  of  tlie 
vast  audience  with  all  the  force  of  a  revelation,  constraining  many 
a  heart,  doubtless,  to  resolve  to  seek  henceforward  "the  things 
that  are  above."  The  appeal  with  which  it  closed,  for  power 
and  pathos,  exceeded,  in  our  judgment,  anything  that  he  himself 
has  uttered. 

And  then  the  discourse  on  Hell,  on  the  evening  of  Wednesday, 
coming  as  it  did  immediately  after  the  addresses  on  Heaven,  was 
certainly  one  of  the  most  solemn  and  impressive  utterances  that 
have  been  heard  within  those  walls.  Every  eye  was  riveted  on 
the  speaker.  The  projected  shadow  of  the  great  white  throne 
seemed  to  fall  and  rest  upon  every  countenance.  Even  the  fer- 
vent exclamations  in  which  some  of  our  friends  indulge  at  reli- 
gious meetings,  and  which  had  been  just  a  little  too  fervent  the 
night  previous,  were  hushed,  and  scarcely  a  sound  broke  tJie 
awful  stillness  with  which,  for  nearly  an  hour,  the  people  listened 
to  the  oft-repeated  charge,  like  so  many  claps  of  thunder,  "  Son, 
remember!  "  In  bygone  revivals  such  heart-smiting,  conscience- 
stirring,  soul-firing  words  as  those  which  poured  from  the  preach- 
er's lips  would  have  caused  hundreds  to  start  to  their  feet  and 
cry  out  with  frenzy,  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner  I  "  But  in 
harmony  with  the  prevailing  character  of  this  awakening,  the 
conviction  of  sin  produced  on  that  occasion  seemed  to  be  too 
deep  and  too  sacred  to  find  expression  in  mere  excited  exclama- 
tions or  physical  prostrations,  and  were  known  only  to  Him  who 
seeth  in  secret !  God  was  in  the  midst  of  us,  of  a  truth.  The 
Holy  Spirit  came,  as  of  old,  with  the  force  as  of  a  rushing  mighty 
wind,  and  filled  all  the  place  where  we  were  sitting.  The  powers 
of  the  world  to  come  were  brought  nigh  to  every  conscience  in  a 
manner  never  to  be  forgotten.  We  seemed  to  be  looking  across 
the  gulf  that  divides  time  from  eternity,  and  beholding  the  tor- 
ments of  the  self-destroyed  victims  of  a  broken  law  and  a  rejec<ed 
gospel.  No  wonder  that  the  inquiry-room  was  full  that  night  of 
inquirers  of  the  most  anxious  description,  and  that  the  after-meet- 
ing, over  which  we  presided,  was  larger  and  more  earnest  than 
any  that  has  yet  taken  place.     Doubtless  the  heavens  blossomed 


144  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

into  song  overhead,  and  the  angels  of  God  rejoiced  over  many 
souls  turning  from  sin  and  Satan  unto  the  living  God  ! 

On  Saturday  evening  the  Oxford  Hall  presented  a  spectacle 
which  those  who  witnessed  it  will  not  soon  forget  In  response 
to  Mr.  Moody's  invitation,  some  3,000  persons,  professedly  Chris- 
tians, and  chiefly  young  men,  assembled  to  hear  him  counsel 
them  regarding  Christian  work.  The  heartiness  with  which  they 
ever  and  anon  broke  forth  into  song  before  he  made  his  appear- 
ance, and  the  manliness  with  which  they  sang,  especially  "  Dare 
to  be  a  Daniel,"  indicated  that  they  were  ready  to  receive  with 
gladness  the  word  of  command  from  the  lips  of  the  great  Organ- 
izer. He  spoke  briefly  but  effectively.  He  told  of  the  work  done 
by  the  young  converts  elsewhere,  especially  in  Glasgow,  in  con- 
nection with  the  evangelization  of  the  masses.  He  made  partic- 
ular reference  to  the  noble  army  of  volunteers  that  rose  to  their 
feet  in  that  city  when  the  appeal  was  made  to  them,  "Who  will 
work  for  Jesus  }  "  And  then,  when  he  made  the  same  appeal  to 
themselves,  calling  upon  all  who  were  ready  to  work  for  the  Mas- 
ter to  stand  up,  almost  the  entire  body  of  young  men — a  grand 
and  inspiring  sight — sprang  to  their  feet.  One  could  not  help 
exclaiming,  "God  be  thanked!  there's  hope  for  our  city!  Man- 
chester, with  such  a  host,  may  yet  be  won  for  Christ ! "  By  a 
special  arrangement,  as  it  seemed,  of  Providence,  Mr.  Reginald 
Radclifle  was  present,  and  immediately  put  before  them  a  definite 
plan  for  making  a  great  gospel  attack,  so  to  speak,  upon  the  city. 
He  suggested  that  an  ordinance  map  of  Manchester  should  be 
cut  into  small  squares,  each  representing  a  district,  and  that  two 
or  three  young  persons  should  undertake  to  carry  the  gospel,  in 
the  shape  of  a  tract  or  otherwise,  to  every  house,  great  and  small, 
within  that  district,  so  that  no  single  dwelling  should  be  omitted. 
The  plan  appeared  to  approve  itself  to  the  judgment  of  the 
meeting,  all  the  more  so  that  he  told  us  how  successfully  he  had 
carried  out  a  similar  one  in  Edinburgh  and  Liverpool  in  years 
gone  by.     The  Lord  grant  it  abundant  success  ! 

The  workers'  meeting  was  the  largest  since  Messrs.  Moody 
and  Sankcy  came  to  Manchester.     The  address  was  most  power- 


THE    HARVEST    IN    ENGLAND.  I  «- 

ful.  A  forcible  appeal  was  made  to  Sabbath-school  teachers  in 
this  city;  but  one  conviction  seemed  to  exist  in  the  minds  of  the 
vast  audience  of  5,000,  "  Let  us  arise  and  work." 

Had  Mr.  Moody  come  to  deliver  only  this  address,  his  mission 
had  not  been  in  vain.  In  the  afternoon  from  15,000  to  17,000 
struggled  for  admission.  Various  meetings  had  to  be  held  in  the 
Free  Trade  Hall,  Oxford  Hall,  and  Cavendish  Chapel ;  all 
crowded  as  they  never  have  been  before.  As  many  more  halls 
of  the  same  size  could  have  been  filled.  From  twenty  to  thirty 
meetings  were  held  in  the  streets  of  the  neighborhood,  where 
addresses  were  delivered  by  ministers  and  laymen.  At  every 
meeting  the  Lord  was  present  to  heal.  Anxious  inquirers  were 
very  numerous.     Great  numbers  professed  to  find  the  Saviour. 

The  meeting  for  young  men  in  Oxford  Hall,  at  eight,  was  also 
crowded  to  excess,  hundreds  being  unable  to  obtain  admission. 
Mr.  Moody  spoke  as  if  tongues  of  fire  hovered  over  his  head. 

The  spiritual  movement  in  this  city  is  now  a  fact — a  solemn 
but  joyful  fact — which  must  be  observed  even  by  those  who  take 
their  stand  outside  as  mere  spectators,  with  marvel ;  and,  indeed, 
skeptics  marvel. 

"  It  is  a  most  strange  phenomenon,"  said  one  to  me,  who  is  a 
clever  journalist,  "  to  see  such  multitudes  brought  together  by 
mere  curiosity,  and  this  curiosity  increasing  day  by  day,  when 
there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  or  heard  that  is  fitted  to  excite  curi- 
osity." So  it  is.  A  striking  feature  of  these  meetings  is  the 
absence  of  all  excitement.  The  thousands  who  usually  flock  to 
our  hall,  when  once  seated,  are  impressively  still ;  it  is  a  grand, 
encouraging  sight  to  watch  this  sea  of  human  faces  eagerly  wait-* 
ing  for  the  word  of  life.  Mr.  Moody  puts  no  effort  forward  to 
attract ;  he  stands  before  his  audience  quiet ;  he  never  introduces 
himself;  you  see  at  once  he  wants  you  to  listen  to  his  message. 
His  words  are  most  simple  and  earnest ;  there  is  nothing  elabo- 
rate, or  strange,  or  new,  not  even  his  illustrations.  But  as  his 
words  fall  from  his  lips,  hearts  are  moved.  If  you  watch  the 
audience  you  can  see  faces  changing  expression;  you  can  read 
there  shame,  contrition,  confession,  hope,  faith,  peace — as  the 
7 


146  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

case  may  be.  The  truth  comes  home !  There  is  power !  No 
man  could  do  it !     It  is  God's  power  I     It  is  the  Lord's  doing ! 

Christians  have  been  drawn  together  as  we  have  not  known 
here  before;  and  though  there  remains  yet  much  that  is  to  be 
desired,  still  we  are  encouraged  and  hope  for  greater  things  ;  we 
know  that  we  cannot  make  unity  by  arrangements  and  efforts ; 
the  Lord's  laborers  have  learned  to  realize  more  than  ever  that 
the  work  is  God's,  not  ours ;  that  He  works  mightily  with  His 
power,  if  we  do  not  hinder,  and  are  willing,  as  Mr.  Moody  puts  it, 
to  be  simple  channels,  just  as  those  dusty,  rusty,  crooked-looking 
gas-pipes.  And  many  who  have  been  hitherto  too  ignorant 
or  indifferent,  or  too  cowardly  to  work,  have  now  come  forward 
and  said,  **  Here  am  I ;  send  me." 

A  dear  friend  from  Liverpool,  who  is  almost  daily  with  us,  has 
used  the  opportunity  and  organized  a  scheme  by  which  every 
house  in  this  city  shall  be  visited.  I  will  only  add,  that  hundreds 
of  our  visitors  are  already  busy  visiting  and  speaking  and  singing 
in  the  sick  chambers  of  isolated  sufferers,  in  the  desolate  homes 
of  the  godless,  of  Him  who  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which 
was  lost.     The  reports  of  the  visitors  are  most  cheering. 

The  noon  prayer-mectifig  in  the  Free  Trade  Hall  has  steadily 
kept  up  its  numbers.  The  large  proportion  of  men  who  find  time 
in  this  commercial  centre  to  consecrate  an  hour  to  prayer  at  mid- 
day, is  a  striking  feature  of  the  meeting.  The  first  twenty  minutes 
are  generally  spent  in  reading  the  requests  for  prayer,  and  pre- 
senting them  in  silent  and  audible  supplication  to  God  ;  a  large 
proportion  of  these  requests  bear  upon  intemperance.  This 
noon  gathering  affords  an  opportunity  for  Christian  workers 
from  all  parts  to  give  tidings  of  the  progress  of  the  work  of  God. 
The  other  day  Mr.  Moody  read  a  telegram  from  the  venerable 
Mr.  Somerville,  who  has  gone  on  an  evangelistic  mission  to  Cal- 
cutta, reporting  the  conversion  ot  thirty-one  persons  at  a  special 
service  held  by  him  in  the  theatre  there  on  the  previous  evering. 
Last  Monday,  the  Rev.  G.  Stuart,  of  Glasgow,  told  how  solidly 
the  work  is  continuing  in  that  town,  and  how  it  is  in  contempla- 
tion   to   purchase   Ewing    Place  Church  for  ;{^2 0,000,  for  evan- 


THE    HARVEST    IN    ENGLAND.  T47 

gelistic  purposes,  growing  out  of  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey's 
labors.  He  also  related  several  remarkable  instances  of  answers 
to  tile  prayers  offered  at  the  Glasgow  noon  prayer-meeting.  On 
Tuesday,  the  Rev.  A.  McLaren  followed  up  Mr.  Moody's  address 
by  a  brief  and  telling  speech,  in  the  course  of  which  he  strongly 
urged  prayer  for  the  consolidation  of  the  growing  union  now 
observable  among  the  churches  of  Manchester. 

The  meetings  for  Christian  workers  in  the  Free  Trade  Hall 
on  Sunday  mornings  at  eight  o'clock,  have  imparted  a  great 
stimulus  to  Christian  labor.  Never  shall  we  forget  Mr.  Moody's 
address  on  "Daniel!"  last  Sunday  morning.  The  hall  was 
crowded  to  excess ;  between  5,000  and  6,000  persons  brought 
together  at  that  early  hour,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  testifies  to  the 
power  with  which  the  awakening  has  laid  hold  of  the  city.  The 
character  of  Daniel  was  exhibited  with  graphic  skill ;  the  varied 
scenes  of  the  first  six  chapters  of  the  book  were  vividly  portrayed  ; 
every  actor  in  the  story  became  instinct  with  life  and  humor,  and 
the  lessons  were  rapidly  and  sharply  drawn  in  a  way  not  likely  to 
be  forgotten.  The  scene  of  Belshazzar's  feast  was  powerfully 
sketched  ;  and  while  Daniel  read  out  the  mysterious  writing  on 
the  wall — read  it  easily,  for  it  was  "  his  Father's  handwriting" — 
the  breathless  silence  which  fell  upon  the  vast  throng  in  the  hall 
told  with  what  reality  the  scene  was  presented  before  them.  The 
whole  story  involved  a  running  satire  upon  the  yielding  temper 
of  the  present  day ;  and  the  address  constituted  a  powerful 
appeal  to  young  men  which  we  have  never  known  surpassed.  At 
the  close  Mr.  Sankey  sung  "  Standing  by  a  purpose  true,"  and 
the  audience  joined  with  unmistakable  enthusiasm  in  the  chorus, 
"Dare  to  be  a  Daniel." 

The  gospel-meetings  on  Sunday  afternoons  and  week  even- 
ings are  still  as  thronged  as  ever.  The  numbers  at  the  inquiry- 
meetings  increase ;  many  have  been  led  to  the  Saviour.  So 
permeated  with  Bible  truth  is  the  teaching  given  in  Mr.  Moody's 
addresses,  that  inquirers  perceive  the  way  of  salvation  with 
unusual  quickness  ;  Christ  is  presented  to  them,  and  ihcy  simply 
and  immediately  close  with  Him.     Last  Sunday  afternoon  Mr. 


X48  MOODY    AXD    SANKEV    IN    GREAT    BRITAIK. 

Moody  addressed  the  great  assembly  in  the  Free  Trade  Hall,  from 
the  seven  following  "  Beholds  ":  "  J3ehold,  I  was  shapen  in  iniqui- 
ty ";  "Bejiold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy";  "Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God  ";  "  Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time  ";  "  Be- 
hold, now  is  the  day  of  salvation  ";  "Behold,  I  stand  at  the  dooi 
and  knock";  *' Behold,  he  prayeth."  It  was  an  address  of 
thrilling  solemnity.  The  crowded  meeting  which,  at  the  time, 
filled  the  Oxford  Hall,  was  addressed  by  the  Rev.  J.  Rawlinson 
and  W.  Hubbard.  It  may  interest  readers  to  learn  thnt  a  band 
of  workers  has  been  organized  to  visit  every  house  in  Manchester 
and  Salford,  with  a  card  bearing  on  one  side  the  hymn,  "Jesus 
of  Nazareth  passelh  by,"  and  on  the  other  the  following  address 
by  Mr.  Moody:  "'Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock:  if  any 
man  hear  my  voice  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him,  and 
sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me '  ^Rev.  iii.  20).  A  woman  in  Glas- 
gow got  into  difficulties.  Her  rent  was  due,  but  she  had  no 
money  for  the  landlord,  and  she  knew  very  well  that  he  would  turn 
her  out  if  she  did  not  satisfy  his  claim.  In  despair  she  knew  not 
what  to  do.  A  Christian  man  heard  of  her  distress,  and  came  to 
her  door  with  money  to  help  her.  He  knocked,  but  although  he 
thought  he  could  hear  some  one  inside,  yet  the  door  was  not 
opened.  He  knocked  again,  but  still  there  was  no  response. 
The  third  time  he  knocked,  but  that  door  still  remained  locked 
and  barred  against  him  I 

"  Some  time  after  he  met  this  woman  in  the  streets,  and  told 
her  how  he  had  gone  to  her  house  to  pay  her  rent,  but  could  not 
get  in.  'Oh,  sir!'  she  exclaimed,  'was  that  you?  Why,  I 
thought  it  was  the  landlord,  and  I  was  afraid  to  open  the  door.' 

"  Dear  friends  !  Christ  is  knocking  at  the  door  of  your  heart. 
He  has  knocked  many  times  already,  and  now  He  knocks  again 
by  this  message.  He  is  your  best  Friend,  although,  like  that 
woman,  perhaps  you  think  He  comes  with  the  stern  voice  of 
justice  to  demand  from  you  the  payment  of  your  great  sin-debt. 
If  so,  you  are  sadly  mistaken.  He  comes  not  to  dcviafiJ,  but  to 
give  !  *The  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life.'  He  knows  yni  can  never 
pay  the  great  debt  you  owe  to  God.     He  knows  th.it  if  that  debt 


THE    HARVEST    IN    ENGLAND  ^^ 

Is  not  paid  for  you,  you  arc  forever  lost !  He  loves  you,  ihoufrh 
He  hates  your  sins;  and  in  order  that  you  might  be  saved,  He 
laid  down  His  life  a  sacrifice  for  the  guihy.  And  now  He  comes  ! 
bringing  ihe  gift  of  salvation  to  the  door  of  your  hearts.'  ll'i// you 
receive  the  sift]  D.  L.  Moody." 

It  has  been  resolved  to  purchase  the  museum  in  Peter  Street 
for  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  for  $150,000,  which 
has  been  raised.  The  building  will  then  beconie  the  home  of  the 
noon  prayer-meeting,  i^nd  the  centre  of  the  united  Christian  effort 
which  nov/  appears  to  be  fairly  inaugurated  in  Manchester. 

A  few  yards  from  the  Free  Trade  Hall,  on  the  same  side  of  the 
street,  stands  a  dingy-looking  old  public  building.  It  was  for- 
merly used  as  a  natural-history  museum,  but  since  the  erection 
cf  the  magnificent  Owen's  College,  an^  the  consequent  trans- 
,  ference  of  its  contents,  the  old  museum  has  been  unused.  The 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  have  long  been  looking  for 
some  suitable  building  as  a  centre  for  their  operations  in  this 
important  cit}^  with  its  70,000  young  men ;  and  now  the  neces- 
sity is  felt  for  a  place  to  carry  on  the  daily  prayer-meeting,  and 
other  united  evangelistic  efforts,  after  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey 
have  left;  so  it  has  been  decided  to  purchase  the  old  museum 
building,  and  use  it  for  these  purposes.  It  was  secured  accord- 
ingly on  Monday  last ;  and  in  a  couple  of  days,  part  of  the  build- 
ing, giving  accommodation  to  about  500  persons,  was  seated, 
lighted  with  gas,  and  heated  ;  so  that  on  Wednesday  night  Mr. 
Moody  used  it  as  an  inquiry-room,  after  the  meeting  in  the 
Free  Trade  Hall,  and  we  had  the  joy  of  seeing  it  full  of  anxious 
souls.  This  was  a  blessed  consecration  of  the  building  for  a 
higher  and  nobler  object  than  ever  it  had  been  used  for  before. 

The  scheme  for  the  visitation  of  every  house  in  Manchester  is 
working  well,  and  with  the  happiest  results.  The  following  is 
the  plan  adopted  :  A  Christian  architect,  who  has  entered  most 
heartily  into  this  service,  has  cut  up  the  large  scale  Ordinance 
Map  of  Manchester  into  about  fifty  districts,  each  of  which  is 
under  the  charge  of  a  superintendent,  who  is  supplied  with  a 


150  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

sufficient  number  of  visitors  to  reach  every  house  within  the  limits 
of  his  district.  A  leaflet  containing  the  hymn  "Jesus  of  Nazareth 
passeth  by,"  and  a  short  address  by  Mr.  Moody  is  left  at  each 
house  ;  but  it  is  understood  by  the  visitors  that  this  paper  is  only  to 
be  used  as  an  introduction^  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  admission 
to  the  houses,  so  as  to  have  personal  conversation  about  eternal 
things  with  each  individual,  as  far  as  possible.  Some  of  the  visitors 
have  already  given  in  most  cheering  reports  of  the  marvelous 
way  in  which  the  hearts  of  the  people  seemed  open  to  receive 
their  visits,  showing  that  the  Lord  is  in  this  movement,  and  is 
preparing  many  hearts  for  the  reception  of  His  owa  blessed 
message  of  salvation. 

The  meetings  came  to  an  end  the  last  day  of  1874.  They  have 
been  blessed  to  vast  numbers.  In  the  inquiry-room,  I  have 
met  with  many  who  stated  that  they  had  never  had  the  way  of 
salvation  so  plainly  put  before  them  as  by  Mr.  Moody.  In  not  a 
few  instances,  too,  Mr.  Sankey's  beautiful  and  touching  solos, 
especially  "Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by,"  "Almost  persuaded," 
and  "Prodigal  child,"  have  proved  to  be  arrows  of  conviction, 
entering  the  heart  in  the  most  unexpected  manner,  and  leading 
to  conversion.  And  what  shall  I  more  say?  for  the  time  would 
fliil  me  to  tell  of  all  the  blessed  fruits,  already  apparent,  of  the 
extraordinary  efforts  of  these  dear  men  of  God.  Suffice  it  to 
say,  in  a  sentence,  that  all  classes  of  the  community — old  and 
young,  rich  and  poor,  learned  and  ignorant,  ministers  and 
laymen,  masters  and  servants,  teachers  and  scholars — have 
received  a  large  blessing  from  the  religious  services  conducted 
by  the  American  brethren,  and  are  deeply  sensible,  I  trust,  of 
the  mighty  debt  of  gratitude  under  which  they  have  been  laid. 
The  Lord  bless  them,  and  make  them  blessings,  wherever  they 
go! 

The  closing  week  has  been  the  most  joyful  of  all.  The  tide 
of  blessing,  which  has  been  steadily  rising,  has  this  week  reached 
its  flood ;  the  earnestness  of  the  preacher  and  the  eagerness 
of  the  people  have  seemed  alike  to  intensify,  and  the  uncon- 
verted have  been  called  to  take  refuge  in  Christ  with  a  vehemence 


THE    HARVEST    IN    ENGLAND.  jrj 

of  entreaty  whicli  has  exerted  a  mighty  influence  on  the  assem- 
blies. During  these  five  weeks  God  has  answered  the  prayers 
of  many  years,  and  we  cannot  but  feel  that  what  has  been  going 
on  in  the  city  has  made  Manchester  pecuharly  interesting  to  the 
dwellers  in  heaven. 

At  nine  on  Wednesday  evening,  about  2,000  men  reassembled 
in  the  hall,  to  hear  what  Mr.  Moody  had  to  say  on  the  subject  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer 
occupied  the  chair,  and  gave  a  brief  address,  intimating  that  it 
was  in  contemplation  to  buy  the  Museum  for  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  for  ;^3o,ooo.  Mr.  Moody  delivered  an 
inspiriting  address,  in  which  he  enlarged  on  the  spiritual  advan- 
tages of  the  Association,  and  urged  the  straining  of  every  effort 
to  reach  the  young  men  of  Manchester,  and  to  secure  the  build- 
ing in  question  for  the  Association.  A  collection  toward  the 
object,  made  at  the  close,  realized  $9,000,  $5,000  of  which  was 
given,  I  believe,  by  the  chairman.  This  amount,  with  what  has 
been  received  before,  including  $2,500  given  last  week  by  Mr.  J. 
Stuart,  makes  a  total,  at  present  received  or  promised,  of  $40,000. 

On  Thursday  morning,  Mr.  Moody  addressed  a  crowded  meet- 
ing in  the  Higher  Broughton  Presbyterian  Church,  and  then  came 
on  to  the  noon  prayer-meeting  in  the  Oxford  Hall,  where  he-read 
and  commented  on  the  earlier  part  of  the  103d  Psalm.  He  said 
he  had  to  bless  the  Lord  for  what  He  had  done  for  him.  It  had 
been  the  best  year  of  his  life.  He  had  been  more  used  by  God 
than  in  all  the  seventeen  preceding  years.  He  did  not  know  of 
one  sermon  he  had  delivered  that  had  not  been  blessed  to  the 
conviction  or  conversion  of  some  souls.  It  was  a  delightful 
meeting.  Every  word  uttered  was  set  to  the  tune  of  "  Bless  the 
Lord,  O  my  soul  1  "  When  one  minister  rose  to  say,  "  I  have  to 
praise  God  for  the  conversion  of  the  brother  of  dear  friends  of 
mine,  who  have  prayed  for  him  twenty-five  years  ;  for  tlie  con- 
version of  the  sister  and  of  the  servant  of  another  friend  ;  for  the 
salvation  of  three  persons  in  my  own  congregation,  for  the  dis- 
pelling of  the  doubts  of  a  young  man  who  had  traveled  150  miles 
to  these  meetings — all  which  blessings  have  been  given  in  the 


152  MOODY    AND    SAM  KEY    IN    GREAT    BKITAJN. 

course  of  the  present  week";  when  another  minister  rose  to  say 
he  had  never  met  with  so  much  scriptural  teaching  concerning 
the  way  of  salvation,  and  the  clear  direction  of  inquirers  to  Jesus, 
as  in  Mr.  Moody's  addresses  ;  and  another  to  say  that  the  last 
ten  days  had  been  the  happiest  of  his  life — that  he  had  derived 
an  inspiration,  had  discovered  how  to  preach  Christ,  had  enjoyed 
sweeter  communion  with  Jesus,  and  felt  like  a  man  whose  chains 
were  broken — they  only  uttered  what  many  could  have  endorsed 
as  a  description  of  the  blessings  they  themselves  had  received 


CHAPTER     XVII. 

Times  of  Blessing  in  Sheffield. 

Th?s  ci\y  of  a  quaiter  of  a  million  is  noted  for  its  workers  in 
iron  and  stefil.  Hearts  hard  as  adamant  were  now  to  be  assailed 
by  sermon  and  song,  and  God  honored  the  men  who  honored 
His  gracious  truth.  At  nine  in  the  evening  of  December  31, 
1874,  the  evangelists  first  appeared  before  a  Sheffield  audience, 
and  for  two  weeks  the  power  of  God  was  manifested  through  tliem 
in  the  most  delightful  manner. 

The  work  opened  here  most  auspiciously ;  the  two  meetings 
held  on  New  Year's  eve  were  crowded,  and  the  impressions  pro- 
duced were  most  solemn. 

Tlie  first  meeting  was  held  in  the  Temperance  Hall  at  nine 
o'clock.  Mr.  Sankey  sang  a  new  hymn  written  by  Dr.  H.  Bonar 
expressly  for  him,  "Rejoice,  and  be  glad!  the  Redeemer  has 
come." 

The  impression  produced  by  his  singing  was  very  striking; 
those  who  had  been  merely  curious  or  altogether  indiftercnt 
seemed  attracted,  and  earnest  attention  and  even,  in  some  cases, 
silent  weeping,  took  the  place  of  carelessness.  The  watch-night 
service  was  particularly  solemn.  The  Albert  Hall,  where  it  was 
held,  was  crowded,  many  having  stood -before  the  doors  an  hour 
before  they  were  opened,  in  order  to  make  sure  of  admittance. 

Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  were  accompanied  on  to  the  plat- 
form by  a  large  number  of  ministers  of  all  denominations.  The 
vicar  oiTered  up  a  fervent  prayer  for  the  Divine  blessing  on  the 

work  in  Sheffield, 

»53 


154  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

One  most  interesting  feature  in  this  service  was  Mr.  Sankey's 
singing  of  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by."  It  might  be  the  nov- 
elty of  his  style,  or  the  associations  naturally  arising  at  the  near 
approach  of  the  new  year,  but  I  certainly  have  never  seen  such 
an  effect  produced.  I  have  heard  him  in  all  the  towns  they  have 
visited  in  Scotland,  and  also  in  Manchester ;  but  I  never  heard 
him  sing  so  pathetically,  more  especially  in  the  last  stanzas  : 

"  Too  late  !   too  late  !  will  be  the  cry, 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  has  passed  by." 

Mr.  Moody  spoke  from  Luke  xix.  lo,  "For  the  Son  of  man  is 
come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  As  illustrating 
this  verse,  he  graphically  narrated  the  two  stories  immediately 
preceding  his  text,  that  of  the  opening  of  the  eyes  of  blind  Bar- 
timeus,  and  the  conversion  of  Zaccheus.  It  was  only  a  re-telling 
of  the  stories,  but  given  in  that  way  peculiarly  Mr.  Moody's  own, 
making  his  listeners  part  and  parcel  of  the  story,  as  if  the  whole 
thing  were  enacted  just  in  the  Targate,  and  Jesus  were  just  pass- 
ing the  hall-doors.  He  connected  the  two  stories  by  throwing 
out  the  thought  that  as  Bartimeus  was  on  his  way  home  to  tell 
his  wife,  Zaccheus  met  him.  "Why,  isn't  that  the  poor  blind 
beggar?  it's  like  him  ;  but  it  can't  be  he,  for  his  eyes  are  open." 

"Yes,  it  is  I." 

"What  has  made  your  eyes  open  ?" 

"  Jesus  of  Nazareth  did  it." 

"Where  is  He  ?     I  must  see  Him." 

"  He's  just  on  the  road  to  Jericho." 

Away  Zaccheus  runs  ;  and  because  he  is  a  little  man,  he  gets 
up  a  tree,  to  see  well.  Jesus  stops,  looks  up,  calls  him,  "Zac- 
cheus, come  down."  This  was  one  instance  of  sudden  conver- 
sion. Some  don't  believe  in  sudden  conversion  ;  but  here  Zac- 
cheus was  not  converted  when  he  went  up  the  tree,  yet  he  came 
down  a  converted  man.  We  are  told  l>e  received  Jesus  gladly. 
From  these  incidents,  he  proved  how  willing,  how  eager  Christ 
is  to  save  all.  What  have  we  to  do.^*  Nothing,  blessed  be  God  ! 
If  we  had,  we  would  never  do  it.  Only  accept.  What  had  Zac- 
cheus to  do?     Only  come  down,  only  obey. 


TIMES    OF    BLESSING    IN    SHEFFIELD.  155 

He  concluded  by  drawing  the  attention  of  the  audience  to  the 
fact  that  the  old  year  was  fiist  dying—only  a  few  minutes— and 
what  if  the  new  year  should  come  and  find  us  where  we  were — 
lost !  Oh,  let  each  of  us  take  it,  the  offer  is  here;  will  you  have 
it?  Salvation — ay,  even  before  this  year  is  closed  you  maybe 
saved.  As  there  are  only  a  few  minutes  of  this  year  remaihing, 
let  us  finish  the  old  and  begin  the  new  on  our  knees. 

The  whole  audience  then  sank  on  their  knees,  and  the  new 
year  found  them  bent  in  silent  prayer.  Mr.  Moody  asked  that 
those  who  were  unsaved  might  stand  up,  that  they  might  be 
prayed  for.  For  a  time  none  were  willing  to  do  so,  but  on  Mr. 
I^Ioody's  asking  a  second  time  "  if  there  were  none  in  the  hall 
wishing  salvation,"  a  few  stood  up,  and  the  Christians  were  asked 
to  pray  for  them. 

Just  then  the  bells  began  to  ring  in  the  new  year,  and  the  Rev. 
R.  Green  engaged  in  prayer  for  an  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
on  the  town  of  Sheffield,  and  most  particularly  on  the  special 
meetings  to  be  held.  Mr.  Moody  also  engaged  in  prayer.  This 
was  one  of  the  most  solemn  scenes  I  have  ever  been  privileged 
to  witness.  While  the  audience  were  bent  in  prayer  the  most 
intense  stillness  prevailed,  broken  only  by  an  occasional  sob. 
After  singing  the  Doxology,  the  meeting  separated. 

The  streets  were  made  lively  after  the  meeting  with  vigorous 
singing  of  hymns,  as  bands  of  Christians  wended  their  way  home. 

Sunday  was  a  day  of  blessing  for  Sheffield.  The  meetings  were 
attended  with  most  blessed  results. 

The  morning  meeting  for  Christian  workers  was  not,  perhaps, 
so  well  attended  in  point  of  numbers  as  might  have  been  expected, 
but  the  Christians  who  had  come  out  at  this  early  hour  were  right- 
down  hearty  workers.  As  Mr.  Moody  said,  ''  He  would  rather 
have  a  moderately  small  meeting  of  such  earnest  Christians  than 
have  it  packed  with  thousands  of  careless  people." 

At  the  afternoon  meeting,  the  Albert  Hall  was  densely  packed 
half  an  hour  before  the  time  ;  the  lower  Albert  Hall  was  thrown 
open  for  the  overflow,  but  even  then  many  had  to  go  away  disap- 
pointed. 


ir6  MOODY    AND    SAN'KtY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Mr.  Moody  addressed  this  large  gathering  from  Rom.  ii.  23 : 
"For  there  is  no  difference." 

Many  were  evidently  struck  to  the  heart;  some  whom  we 
heard  scoffing  at  the  commencement,  were  in  tears  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  his  address. 

When  Mr.  Sankey  followed  by  singing  "Free  from  the  law,  O 
happy  condition!  "  it  seemed  to  produce  a  deep  impression. 

The  Sunday  evening  meeting  was  glorious.  The  hall  was 
again  densely  packed.  Mr.  Sankey  sang  his  solo,  "  There  were 
ninety  and  nine."  Mr.  Moody  then  gave  his  address  on  "Re- 
generation," from  the  words,  "  Ye  must  be  born  again."  The 
result  of  the  whole  proceedings  in  Sheffield  since  the  coming  of 
our  dear  brethren  must  be  considered  highly  satisfactory,  and  as 
affording  great  cause  for  thankfulness. 

Mr.  Moody  spoke  no  less  than  four  times  on  Friday,  on  each 
occasion  with  much  power,  and  with  signs  following.  It  need 
scarcely  be  added  that  Mr.  Sankey's  solos,  including  such  favor- 
ites as  "  Only  an  armor-bearer,"  "  Dare  to  be  a  Daniel,"  "  Whiter 
than  snow,"  etc.,  deepened  the  influences  produced  by  Mr. 
Moody's  impassioned  discourses.  Indeed,  it  is  made  more  and 
more  manifest  that  the  special  gifts  of  each  evangelist  have  been 
most  happily  wedded  together  for  the  common  purpose  they  have 
in  view. 

At  the  closing  service  in  the  evening  there  was  no  diminution 
either  in  the  attendance  or  the  interest.  It  was  chiefly  intended 
for  the  young  converts,  who  were  admitted  by  ticket,  and  crowded 
a  large  part  of  the  area  of  the  Albert  Hall.  Both  the  galleries 
were  also  crammed  long  before  the  hour  of  commencing.  It  was 
a  glorious  and  inspiring  sight  to  look  on  such  a  vast  sea  of  human 
fices,  all  lit  up  with  eager  expectation,  and  all  assembled  to  hear 
the  simple  story  of  the  Saviour's  grace  and  power.  The  scene 
■^as  more  impressive  still  when,  at  the  appointed  hour,  Mr. 
!vtoody  and  Mr.  Sankey  having  quietly  crossed  the  front  of  the 
platform^  and  taken  their  seats,  the  whole  assembly  rose  and 
joined  in  singing  the  hymn, 

"  Ring  ihe  bells  of  heaven,  there  is  joy  to-day, 
For  a  eoul  returning  from  the  wild." 


TIMES    OF    BLESSING    IN    SHEFFIELD.  157 

And  afterward,  in  that  jubilant  old  hymn  that  used  to  be  sung  al 
revival  meetings  fifteen  years  ago,  and  is  ever  fresh  and  new : 

"O  happy  day!   that  fixed  my  choice 
On  Thee,  my  Saviour  and  my  God  ; 
WeL  may  this  glowmg  heart  rejoice, 
Ar.i  tell  its  raptures  all  abroad." 

After  Mr.  Sankey  had  sung  "  Whiter  than  snow,"  Mr.  Moody 
spoke  with  his  accustomed  pungency,  simplicity,  and  power, 
chiefly  addressing  the  young  converts.  Surely  they  will  never  be 
able  to  forget  his  words  of  affectionate  encouragement  and  cau- 
tion, as  he  pointed  out  the  dangers  that  would  inevitably  come  to 
them  in  their  Christian  life,  and  the  unfailing  source  of  strength 
amidst  them  all.  Tiien  came  his  parting  words,  evidently  painful 
alike  to  speaker  and  hearers.  "I  have  learned  to  love  you,"  said 
Mr.  Moody;  and  the  earnest  gaze  and  tearful  eyes  before  him 
testified,  more  loudly  than  words,  how  his  love  was  reciprocated, 
and  his  labors  and  counsels  prized.  I  was  forcibly  reminded  of 
the  scene  of  Paul's  farewell  meeting  with  the  elders  at  Miletum. 
I  verily  believe  that  many  hundreds  of  young  converts  would,  one 
and  all,  have  fallen  on  Mr.  Moody's  neck,  and  kissed  him,  sorrow- 
ing most  of  all  for  the  words  which  he  spake,  that  they  should  see 
his  face  no  more.  One  little  fellow,  at  the  close  of  the  meeting, 
came  to  me  in  great  distress  when  he  found  that  ^Ir.  iMoody  had 
left  without  having  given  him  a  shake  of  his  hand. 

Before  the  meeting  was  dismissed,  Mr.  Sankey  sang  a  parting 
hymn  to  the  tenderly  pathetic  tune  of  "  Home,  sweet  home,"  and 
the  vast  crowd  lingered  long  in  the  hall  where  Christ  had  won  so 
many  sons  and  daughters  within  the  past  two  weeks. 

The  work  among  the  young  men  has  been  taking  root  during 
the  week.  It  has  been  a  ''Happy  New  Year"  for  Sheffield,  and 
the  faith  of  the  Lord's  people  prompts  them  to  hope  that  "still 
there's  more  to  follow." 

Upward  of  eighty — clergymen  of  all  the  evangelical  denomina- 
tions in  the  town,  and  the  other  members  of  the  committee-  met 
Messis.  Moody  and  Sankey  at  breakfast  in  the  Imperial  Hotel^ 
on  Saturday  morning,  to  bid  them  farewell.     Reporters  were  ex- 


158  MCX)DY   AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

eluded,  but  I  understand  that  the  unanimous  expression  of  the 
company  was  one  of  gratitude  to  the  evangelists  for  their  untiring 
and  successful  labors  in  Sheffield,  and  for  the  spirit  of  cordial  co- 
operation among  the  various  divisions  of  the  Church  that  their 
visit  had  so  blessedly  generated.  Practical  as  he  always  is,  Mr. 
Moody  used  the  occasion  to  urge  upon  the  committee  the  neces- 
sity of  rearing  a  central  and  suitable  building  in  the  town,  where 
all  those  interested  in  the  continued  success  of  the  work  could 
meet  on  neutral  ground,  and  carry  on  the  meetings. 

In  summing  up  the  results,  and  giving  general  impressions  of 
the  value  of  these  special  services,  the  following  account  may  be 
found  useful : 

The  crowded  meetings,  thrice  repeated  every  day,  attended  by 
persons  who  set  aside  engagements,  alike  of  business,  work,  and 
pleasure,  have  been  accompanied  with  much  power  from  above. 
Sheffield  is  usually  considered  as  a  population  difficult  to  arouse, 
sturdy,  independent,  unimpressionable  ;  like  the  metal  in  which 
we  work  in  these  parts,  true,  but  hard  as  steel.  Yet  the  place 
has  been  thoroughly  aroused,  and  proof  to  demonstration  given 
that  God  is  able  to  work  here,  as  in  Jerusalem  of  old,  and  as  in 
other  towns  of  England  now  ;  thus  greatly  encouraging  Christian 
ministers  and  laborers  to  look  with  faith  for  greater  things.  All 
the  meetings  have  been  pervaded  by  a  sense  of  God's  nearness ; 
believers  have  been  filled  with  fresh  joy,  and  fired  with  new  zeal ; 
the  anxious  have  found  soul-rest;  the  careless  have  been  aroused. 
Tn  fact,  we  have  had  at  once  a  revival  and  an  awakening — a  re- 
vival touching  the  hearts  of  God's  people,  and  an  awakening 
spreading  among  the  thoughtless.  The  influence  reached  its 
height  on  the  last  night  of  Mr.  Moody's  presence  in  the  town, 
when  he  addressed  specially  the  converts,  who  were  present  in 
goodly  numbers,  together  with  a  vast  crowd  of  Christian  workers. 
His  words  seemed  to  have  a  thrilling  power  among  us  all.  When 
he  closed  by  saying  that  he  did  not  like  "farewell,"  and  "good- 
bye" was  almost  as  bad;  he  would  therefore  just  say  "good- 
night," and  u)  ;ct  us  in  the  morning  (pointing  to  the  skies),  I 
think   the   whole   audience   deeply  felt  how  much    our  beloved 


TIMES    OF    BLESSING    IN    SHEFFIELD.  159 

brother  had  endeared  himself  to  us.  And  wlien  Mr.  Sankey  fol- 
lowed directly  with  his  touching  farewell  hymn,  so  appropriate  to 
such  an  occasion,  and  so  specially  addressing  every  class  of 
hearers,  many  were  the  eyes  that  were  bathed  in  tears.  Had  it 
been  possible,  we  would  not  have  parted  with  our  brethren.  But 
may  the  Lord  go  with  them  in  other  places,  confirming  their  word 
with  signs  and  wonders,  as  He  has  done  here  ! 

The  verdict  of  almost  all  Christian  people  upon  this  movement 
is,  that  it  is  the  work  of  God.  I  am  convinced  that  such  an  esti- 
mate is  just,  on  many  grounds. 

1.  The  movement  was  an  answer  to  prayer.  Though  we  had 
not  waited  on  the  Lord  so  long  as  Christians  in  some  other  towns 
have  done,  a  weekly  united  prayer-meeting  had  been  maintained 
for  nearly  a  year  previously.  Many  of  God's  people  were  also 
quietly  sighing  and  crying  for  the  abominations  of  the  city,  and 
hungering  and  thirsting  for  spiritual  blessing.  One  feature  in  the 
prayers  previously  offered  was  very  noticeable.  While  all  were 
preparing  heartily  to  welcome  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey,  there 
was  a  thorough  recognition  in  the  supplications  that  not  they, 
but  their  God,  must  open  the  flood-gates  of  grace.  The  Spirit 
was  honored ;  and  we  have  had  the  answer. 

2.  Remarkable  unity  prevailed.  At  least  in  its  outward  mani- 
festation this  was  realized,  when  ministers  of  the  Established 
Church  and  those  of  the  Free  Churches  sat  together  on  the  same 
platform,  and  followed  each  other  in  prayer.  The  force  of  exhor- 
tation, backed  by  the  united  sympathy  and  supplications  of  the 
whole  Christian  Church,  is  multiplied  tenfold.  Doubtless  Chris- 
tian union  is  of  God.  When  will  it  genuinely  prevail  ?  Is  not 
the  attainment  of  it  worth  the  surrender  of  the  causes  of  division  ? 

3.  The  movement  had  a  growing  power.  Its  influence  at  first 
was  not  to  be  compared  with  what  it  became  in  its  progress.  In- 
deed, the  feeling  of  myself  and  of  others  with  whom  I  have  con- 
versed was  at  first  one  of  disappointment.  Both  Mr.  Moody's 
speaking  and  Mr.  Sankey's  singing  seemed  to  fall  short  of  what 
we  had  expected ;  but  it  was  not  long  before  the  imprcssiveness 
of  both  made  itself  felt  to  all.     To  my  mind,  this  is  a  true  test  of 


l6c  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

excellence.  A  picture,  a  piece  of  music,  a  landscape — do  they 
grow  upon  you  by  repetition  ?  The  work  of  these  evangelists  has 
grown  upon  us.  I  apprehend  it  would  have  been  the  other  way, 
hid  it  not  been  of  God. 

4.  The  stillness  was  remarkable.  The  noise  and  confusion 
favorable  to  revivals  which  are  the  work  of  man  was  altogether 
absent.  The  quiet,  favorable  to  the  descent  and  operations  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  was  marked.  A  man  of  my  acquaintance  once 
observed  that  "  anybody  could  get  up  a  revival,  if  he  only  made 
enough  noise."  There  was  nothing  of  that  kind  here.  Indeed, 
I  noticed  that  if  any  brother  threw  a  needless  physical  exertion 
into  his  entreaties,  Mr.  Moody  would  be  sure  to  say,  "  Let  us 
have  a  few  minutes'  silent  prayer ; "  and  this  was  mostly  followed 
by  the  subduing  strains  of  Mr.  Sankey's  harmonium  and  voice. 
A  solemn  quiet  reigned  at  all  times,  and  even  Mr.  Moody's  hu- 
morous sayings  did  not  destroy  the  solemnity  of  it.  A  work  done 
under  conditions  such  as  these,  so  different  from  those  which 
have  prevailed  in  some  "revivals,"  commends  itself  to  me  as  the 
work  of  God.  There  are  many  things  that  I  might  touch  on ;  but 
only  one  thing  more  will  I  mention. 

5.  The  work  is  evidently  one  of  faith.  This  quality  is  very 
observable  in  Mr.  Mood)-.  He  has  faith — not  a  proud  self  confi- 
dence engendered  by  success,  but  a  humble  reliance  upon  God 
and  fearless  expectation  of  blessing. 

Letter  of  Mr.  Moody  to  the  Young  Converts. 

A  meeting  of  converts  was  held  on  the  evening  of  January  19, 
presided  over  by  the  Rev.  R.  Staunton. 

During  the  proceedings  the  chairman  read  the  following  letter : 

"Birmingham,  Jan.  19,  1S75. 

"My  dear  Friends:  Mr.  Sankey  and  I  would  have  been  very 

glad  to  liavc  seen  you  all  once  more  to-night,  but  God  has  given 

us  work  in  another  corner  of  His  vineyard,  and  we  can  only  join 

you  in  well-wishes.     I  am  very  glad  now  to  have  this  opportunity 


TIMES    OF    BLESSING    IN    SHEFFIELD.  l6l 

of  fulfilling  my  promise  to  send  you  a  short  message.  There  are 
many  things  I  should  like  to  say  if  I  had  the  time,  but  I  fear  I 
must  confine  myself  to  one  or  two  very  plain  words.  Ever  since 
we  left  Sheffield,  every  one  of  us  will  have  changed  a  little.  Some 
will  be  merrier,  and  some  will  be  gloomier.  Some  will  be  fuller 
of  God's  love,  and  some  may  even  feel  a  little  emptier ;  others, 
again,  may  not  have  got  over  the  period  of  wonder,  and  still  find 
themselves  asking:  '  And  can  it  really  all  be  true  ?  Is  it  not  just 
some  strange  dream  ?  Is  it  really  possible  that  God  loves  us, 
and  that  we  are  really  saved  for  evermore  ? '  And  this  is  my  only 
one  reply  to  these  very  common  and  rational  questions :  We  are 
changed,  but  Christ  is  not.  Oh,  xi  He  were  different,  it  would  be  a 
very,  very  serious  thing.  And  if  we  are  changed  and  are  fright- 
ened about  it,  we  must  find  out  at  once  if  He  is  changed  too.  If 
it  is  only  we  who  are  different,  it  does  not  matter  much,  because 
salvation  does  not  depend  upon  us,  but  upon  Him.  And  the 
Bible  tells  us  all  about  it  in  one  little  golden  sentence,  which  we 
must  all  ask  God  to  burn  into  our  hearts,  and  then  we  shall  never 
be  troubled  any  more  about  our  feelings.  In  Hebrews  xiii.  8, 
He  says,  *  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for- 
ever.' Yes !  the  same ;"  no  matter  how  changed  we  are,  no  mat- 
ter how  dull,  how  joyless,  Pie  is  just  as  He  was  yesterday,  just 
as  He  was  the  night  when  we  got  our  first  glimpse  of  His  dying 
love  for  us. 

"  Oh.  dear  friends,  let  us  keep  looking  to  Him,  and  as  we  look, 
God  will  give  us  the  longing  to  be  more  and  more  like  Him. 
Perhaps  some  of  you  already  feel  that  longing,  and  you  don't 
know  what  it  is  !  Perhaps  you  think  it  is  very  hard  to  have  this 
craving  after  a  better  heart  and  a  holier  life.  But  Christ  says  it 
is  'blessed.'  It  is  not  hard ;  it  is  not  a  misfortune;  it  is  not  a 
sign  that  the  health  of  the  soul  is  gone.  No  ;  appetite  is  not  the 
symptom  of  disease,  but  of  health.  And  the  Master  Himself  has 
told  us  that  it  is  blessed  to  be  hungry  and  thirsty  after  Him. 
And  some  of  you  may  be  mourning  over  your  empty  hearts,  for 
little  love  is  there  ;  how  little  faith,  how  little  zeal  for  the  Mas- 
ter's service  1     Well,  it  is  not  hardship  to  feel  like  that.     If  it  be 


tCl  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

real,  it  is  not  sad  to  be  that  way,  only  don't  mourn  over  it 
Christ  says  it  is  *  blessed  ' — blessed  to  be  poor  in  spirit;  and  the 
poorer,  and  weaker,  and  humbler  we  feel,  the  more  room  is  thero 
for  Him  to  perfect  strength  in  our  weakness.  *  My  grace  is  suffi- 
cient for  thee  ;  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness ;  *  *  * 
for  when  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong.'  And  now,  dear  friends, 
before  closing,  let  me  ask  you  all  to  do  something  for  Christ, 
something  this  very  week.  I  cannot  tell  you  what  to  do ;  but 
God  will  if  you  ask  Him.  He  has  something  for  everybody  to 
do ;  and  let  us  be  earnest  in  doing  our  best  for  Him,  and  let  us 
do  it  soon.  Death  will  be  upon  us  when  our  work  will  be  but 
begun,  and  '  the  night  comelh  when  no  man  can  work.'  And  for 
every  one  of  you,  that  God  may  bless  you,  and  keep  you,  and 
cause  the  light  of  His  face  to  shine  upon  you,  and  enable  you  to 
grow  in  the  knowledge  and  likeness  of  His  only  begotten  Son,  ia 
the  earnest  and  humble  prayer  of  your  affectionate  friend, 

"D.  L.  Moody." 


CHAPTER     XVIII. 
^TiiK  Toyshop  of  the  World"  Welcomes  Them. 

Birmingham,  with  its  400,000  people,  the  constituency  of 
John  Bright,  the  English  reformer,  now  looks  up  to  God  for  a 
shower  of  grace  upon  the  seed-sowing  of  the  evangelists  who 
began  there  January  17,  and  closed  on  the  29th. 

Never  before  in  Birmingham  have  any  preachers  drawn  such 
vast  numbers  of  people  as  these  brethren  are  doing  at  this  time. 
Thousands  are  flocking  daily  to  hear  them  from  the  districts 
around.  The  whole  community  seems  stirred  up.  That  which 
seems  to  be  uppermost  in  men's  minds,  is  the  present  marvelous 
gatherings  ihat  are  daily  taking  place.  There  is  no  lack  of 
opportunity  for  the  Christian  to  put  in  a  word  for  the  Master,  for 
wherever  you  go,  whether  in  the  counting-house,  shop,  refresh- 
ment-room, train,  omnibus,  and  even  as  you  walk  along  the 
street,  the  one  topic  is  the  doings  of  these  wonderful  men  of  God. 
If  you  want  to  get  a  seat  at  their  meetings,  you  must  be  there  fully 
one  hour  before  the  time,  and  a  stranger  entering  the  town  must 
be  struck  with  the  determination  of  those  who  daily  seek  these 
gatherings. 

Eveiy  day  this  week  hundreds  have  been  turned  away  fiom 
the  noon-day  meetings  held  in  the  Town  Hall.  Meetings  are 
now  being  held  in  Carr's  Lane  Chapel  every  afternoon  at  three 
o'clock,  and  here  again  it  is  necessary  to  be  there  some  time  before 
the  service  commences.  In  fact,  yesterday  I  was  there  at  two 
o  clock,  and  the  body  of  the  chapel  was  then  filled.  It  is  estimated 
that  three  thousand  people  are  in  this  building  every  afternoon. 

163 


164  MOOD\     AVD    SANKtV    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

To  convey  to  tho  mind  of  the  reader  the  sight  which  presents 
itself  on  entering  Bingley  Hall  is  impossible.  Sloping  down 
from  the  galleries  which  run  round  the  building,  other  galleries 
have  been  erected,  and  the  whole  building,  from  the  speaker's 
platform,  looks  like  one  vast  amphitheatre.  The  crimson  cloth 
which  drapes  the  galleries  adds  to  the  general  effect,  and  makes 
the  hall  look  very  comfortable.  The  immense  sea  of  faces  is 
singularly  impressive,  especially  when  from  12,000  to  15,000 
people  are  listening  eagerly  to  catch  the  words  that  fall  from  the 
speaker's  lips. 

The  question  may  be  asked.  What  effect  is  this  movement  hav- 
ing upon  the  people  in  general .?  I  repl}^  Good  every  way.  The 
stirring  addresses  given  by  Mr.  Moody  to  Christians  from  the 
very  first  morning,  are  bearing  fruit.  They  are  beginning  to  look 
about,  and  realize  that  thousands  around  them  are  living  without 
Christ.  Many  Christians  have  spoken  to  me  of  the  fresh  energy 
with  which  they  have  been  stimulated,  through  attendinj^  the 
meetings.  As  for  those  who  nightly  throng  Bingley  Hall,  the 
best  test  of  the  work  I  can  give  is,  that  whereas  at  first  the  after- 
meetings  were  held  in  a  neighboring  church,  the  anxious  ones 
have  now  become  so  numerous,  that  they  are  obliged  to  remain 
in  the  hall,  while  earnest  Christian  workers,  with  Bible  in  hand, 
pass  from  one  to  another,  and  open  to  inquirers  the  way  of  life. 

All  this  proves  to  us  the  great  power  of  God,  and  what  He  can 
do  by  two  men  who  give  themselves  wholly  up  to  Him.  The  work 
"is  marvelous  in  our  eyes,"  but  it  is  not  less  marvelous  that  their 
physical  strength  does  not  give  way  under  their  unceasing  labors. 
While  Mr.  Sankey  is  greatly  gifted  with  power  to  use  his  voice  in 
singing  the  Gospel,  Mr.  Moody  has  a  way  of  marvelously  picturing, 
in  the  most  vivid  manner,  Bible  truths.  From  the  humorous  he 
can  come  down  to  the  pathetic,  and  so  move  his  hearers  to  tears, 
and  withal  there  is  a  "holy  boldness  "  which  is  seldom  to  be  met 
with  in  tlie  preachers  of  the  present  day. 

The  Mornifi^^  News  says  :  "  Never  before  in  the  history  of  Bir- 
mingham, I  l)clicve,  have  two  men  drawn  such  large  numbers 'of 
people  together  as  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  have  done,  time 


THE   TOY-.. .OP    OF    THE    WORLD"    WELCOMES    THEM.        165 

after  time,  during  the  wliole  of  last  week  and  yesterday.  The 
Town  Hall,  Carr's  Lane  Chapel,  and  Bingley  Hall,  have  been 
entirely  filled  at  most  of  their  meetings,  uncomfortably  crowded 
at  some,  and  all  but  full  at  one  or  two  others.  Since  commencing 
their  labors  here,  they  have  held  twenty-two  services,  namely, 
four  in  Carr's  Lane  Chapel,  six  in  the  Town  Hall,  and  twelve  in 
Bingley  Hall.  No  doubt  in  many  cases  the  same  persons  pre- 
sented themselves  at  the  meetings  again  and  again  ;  but  it  is 
probable  that  the  audiences  were,  for  the  most  part,  different  on 
each  occasion.  At  the  four  meetings  in  Carr's  Lane  Chapel 
some  12,000,  at  the  six  in  the  Town  Hall  about  24,000,  and  at  the 
twelve  in  Bingley  Hall  at  least  120,000  persons  must  have  been 
present,  making  a  total  of  156,000  men,  women,  and  children,  to 
whom,  during  the  last  eight  days,  they  have  preached  and  sung 
the  Gospel.  Nor  does  the  interest  in  the  men  and  their  work 
as  yet  know  any  abatement,  it  being  likely  that  the  services  to  be 
held  this  week  will  be  as  numerously  attended  as  those  of  last  v/eek." 

Amidst  all  the  cavil  of  unbelief,  and  other  opponents,  thou- 
sands can  testify,  day  by  day,  to  the  rdiUty  and  power,  widely 
spreading  and  deepening  blessing  upon  their  souls.  Sinners 
have  been  converted  to  God,  and  believers  edified.  Whole  con- 
gregations, both  in  churches  and  chapels,  have  felt  its  animating 
power.  The  clergy  and  ministers  of  various  denominations 
have  rejoiced  together  in  this  blessed  work  of  the  Lord,  and  felt 
its  quickening  influence.  Many  of  the  Lord's  servants  have  met 
together  for  the  first  time,  and  felt  their  hearts  drawn  out  in 
brotherly  love  and  sympathy,  enabling  them  to  overlook  various 
minor  differences  of  creed  and  church  governm.ent. 

The  noon-day  piayer-meeting  was  first  held  in  the  Town  Hall, 
which  large  building  was  filled  long  before  the  appointed  hour. 
A  very  solemn  and  prayerful  spirit  seemed  to  pervade  the  masses 
— the  stillness  was  quite  impressive,  and  the  great  bulk  of  the 
people  seemed  to  enter  most  deeply  into  the  importance  and 
solemnity  of  the  occasion.  The  numbers  at  the  noon  day  prayer- 
meeting  were  probably  quite  3,000.  Afterward  it  was  changed 
to  Bingley  Hall,  where  thousands  more  might  be  accommodated 


l66  MOOCY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

The  afternoon  Bible-reading  is  also  well  attended,  and  greatly 
enjoyed  by  many.  The  evening  meetings  hav^  gone  on  steadily- 
increasing,  until  at  length  I  suppose  some  15,000  must  have  been 
congregated  together.  The  attention  of  these  great  masses 
(assembled  an  hour  before  the  time)  was  well  sustained  by  sing- 
ing— and,  as  a  brother  clergyman  said  to  me,  on  the  platform,  "  we 
never  heard  such  singing  of  the  good  Old  Hundredth  Psalm 
before,  and  probably  may  never  hear  the  like  again  " — as  it  burst 
forth  from  the  hearts  and  lips  of  this  vast  assemblage.  Oh !  it 
was  a  touching  sight  and  a  telling  sound— such  as  Birmingham 
itself  had  never  witnessed  before — 15,000  met  together,  night 
after  night,  to  listen  to  the  loving,  sympathizing,  fervent  preach- 
ing of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  sinners!  And  the  audience 
felt  it!  The  Holy  Spirit  of  God  seemed  working  in  our  midst — 
alike  on  preacher  and  hearers — and  many  were  the  hearts  moved. 

At  7:30  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  entered  the  building. 
The  service  began  by  singing,  then  prayer  was  offered,  another 
hymn  or  two  were  sung,  a  portion  of  Holy  Scripture  read,  another 
hymn,  and  then  followed  the  address.  Numerous  anecdotes 
were  related,  as  if  not  only  to  illustrate  certain  points,  but  also 
to  rivet  the  attention,  and  then,  as  the  preacher's  heart  and 
tongue  seemed  set  on  fire,  all  these  little  adjuncts  were  sub- 
merged in  the  one  glowing,  burning  theme — salvation  for  lost 
sinners— yea,  a  present  and  immediate  salvation  for  every  one 
that  believeth  in  Jesus!  As  I  sat  near  the  preacher,  I  could 
read  the  meaning  of  the  big  drops  upon  his  brow,  and  how  his 
whole  frame  was  moved,  not  with  selfish  passions,  seeking  per- 
sonal admiration,  but  steeped  in  the  love  and  spirit  of  his  Master. 
One  great  object  was  kept  steadily  in  view — the  glory  of  God  in 
the  salvation  of  sinners  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  intense 
longing  that  thousands  might  share  with  him  the  blessings  and 
the  joys  of  this  great  salvation  1  Almost  breathless  stillness 
chained  the  audience. 

Numbers  stayed  for  the  after-meetings  ;  the  females  in  the 
side-galleries,  the  males  in  the  Scotch  Church  adjoining.  On 
the  first  Mooday  evening  Mr.  Moody  himself  undertook  the  men, 


•*THE   TOY-SHOP    OF    THE   WORLD"    WELCOMES   THEM.        167 

but  finding  the  numbers  so  large,  he  sent  up  to  the  pLilform  for 
assistance.     Undoubtedly  personal  interviews  are  the  best. 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  many  found  pardon  and  peace 
in  Jesus,  and  are  spreading  their  happy  and  holy  influences 
around.  The  singing  appeared  to  be  improving  night  after 
night,  as  the  vast  masses  gradually  learned  the  tunes  and  hymns. 
Mr.  Sankey's  solos  were  powerfully  and  sweetly  sung,  and  his 
clear  utterance  and  distinct  enunciation  of  syllable  after  syllable 
gave  a  great  effect  and  pathos  to  the  whole. 

And  on  Tuesday,  January  26,  the  day  of  the  convention,  it 
was  supposed  that  from  one  to  two  thousand  ministers  of  various 
denominations  attended  the  gathering,  which  began  that  day 
at  ten  o'clock  and  continued  till  four  p.  m.  Truly  it  was  a  great 
evidence  of  the  divine  blessing,  as  the  delegates  from  Edinburgh, 
and  Dublin,  and  other  cities,  told  how  the  work  was  still  progress- 
ing in  their  respective  cities,  after  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey 
had  left,  and  in  some  places  ripening  in  a  most  marvelous 
manner.  Indeed  a  fetter  reached  me  only  yesterday,  telling  me 
of  a  brother  clergyman  in  Dublin,  who  had  a  list  of  sixty  persons 
in  his  congregation,  who  had  apparently  been  brought  to  Christ 
through  attending  the  meetings  of  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey. 

Verily,  the  Lord  is  blessing  the  evangelistic  labors  of  our  dear 
brothers  in  Christ — Moody  and  Sankey.  I  do  not  pretend  to 
endorse  every  utterance,  or  to  see  with  them  exactly,  eye  to  eye,  on 
every  point.  But  I  do  see,  and  I  do  greatl)  rejoice  in  their  being 
raised  up  by  God  to  proclaim,  so  touchingly,  and  so  successfully, 
the  utter  ruin  of  sinful,  fallen  man,  and  his  recovery  solely 
through  FAITH  in  Jesus  Christ! 

The  all-day  convention  on  Tuesday  was  in  every  way  a  suc- 
cessful meeting.  It  was  attended  by  immense  crowds  throughout 
the  day,  and  many  well-known  ministers  and  others  were  present 
from  London  and  various  towns  in  the  provinces,  as  well  as  Scot- 
land and  Ireland.  Mr.  Moody  presided  throughout  the  day,  with 
his  usual  tact  and  energy. 

The  first  hour  was  filly  devoted  to  praise,  and  Mr.  Sankey's 
opening  address  was  followed  by  powerful  testimony  to  the  \^luc 


l68  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Df  the  services  by  our  brethren  in  Scotland  and  Ireland.  All  the 
speakers  concurred  in  saying  that  a  new  song  had  been  put  into 
their  mouths. 

Mr.  Moody  occupied  the  next  hour  with  an  address  on  "  Work  ; " 
and  his  trenchant  words,  uttered  in  the  presence  of  so  many 
Christian  workers,  were  potent  with  blessing,  in  stimulating  them 
to  do  more  than  ever  for  the  Master  in  their  widely  separated 
vineyards. 

"  How  to  conduct  Prayer-meetings  "  was  the  next  topic,  and  a 
most  important  one  it  is.  We  cannot  better  describe  many  of 
the  prayer-meetings  we  have  been  accustomed  to  attend  in  past 
years  than  by  comparing  them  to  "  wet  blankets."  They  have 
been  characterized  by  so  much  frigidity  and  routine,  that  we  do 
not  wonder  the  attendance  has  mostly  been  small.  Mr.  Moody 
will  have  done  us  British  Christians  a  great  and  lasting  service  if 
he  has  been  enabled  to  show  how  our  prayer-meetings  may  be 
made  broad  and  deep  channels  of  blessing  and  happiness,  both 
to  Christians  and  the  careless  world  round  about  us.  We  look 
for  this  result. 

More  important,  perhaps,  was  the  subject  of  the  next  hour, 
"  How  to  reach  the  masses."  Whoever  will  solve  that  problem 
will  earn  the  unspeakable  gratitude  of  all  who  sigh  for  the  conver- 
sion of  the  nations  to  Christ.  The  rousing  addresses  of  Mr. 
Chown,  of  Bradford ;  Mr.  Newman  Hall,  of  London  ;  Mr.  R.  W. 
Dale,  of  Birmingham  ;  Mr.  Fletcher,  of  Dublin,  and  others,,  all 
men  of  large  experience,  will,  we  trust,  have  contributed  some- 
what to  this  desired  end. 

Mr.  Moody  was  as  practical  as  ever  in  his  answers  to  the  ques- 
tions sent  in  ;  and  if  those  who  sent  them  will  only  apply  those 
answers,  we  are  inclined  to  think  the  hour  devoted  to  the  "Ques- 
tion Drawer"  will  be  the  most  fruitful  of  any. 

In  the  evening  a  public  service  was  held  in  the  same  place ; 
hundreds  were  unable  to  gain  admission.  The  Rev.  Newman 
Hall,  of  London,  delivered  an  address,  earnestly  entreating  all 
present  to  forsake  sin  and  come  to  Christ.  Mr.  Moody,  in  his 
discourse,  urged  on  his  hearers  immediate  decision  for  Christ. 


"the  toyshop  of  the  world"  welcomes  them. 


169 


Mr.  Sankey's  singing  of  sacred  songs  seems  to  make  a  deep 
impression  upon  the  great  congregation. 

At  the  meeting  in  Bingley  Hall  on  Friday  evening,  Mr.  Moody 
said  :  I  was  very  dejected  last  night.  Our  meetings  have  been 
so  much  blessed  that  an  effort  was  put  forth  to  get  Bingley  Hall 
for  another  week.  When  we  got  home  last  evening,  we  found  a 
despatch  from  a  gentleman,  saying  we  could  not  have  the  hall.  I 
was  greatly  depressed  all  day.  Now,  however,  I  have  just  been 
told  we  may  yet  obtain  the  hall  for  another  week.  But  the  com- 
mittee are  wavering  a  little,  as  they  have  some  fears  the  people 
will  not  come  out  to  the  meetings  next  week.  We  have  had  good 
committees  wherever  we  have  been ;  but  we  have  never  had  a 
better  committee  than  the  Birmingham  one,  and  I  know  they  will 
come  to  a  wise  decision.  But  if  you  are  anxious  about  your  souls, 
you'll  attend  the  meetings.  We'll  get  several  gentlemen  to  speak, 
and  we  hope  you'll  rally  round  them  and  the  committee.  We 
have  had  great  blessings  in  other  towns ;  but  I  think  we  never 
met  with  anything  that  came  up  to  this — to  our  meetings  in  Bir- 
mingham. I  must  say  I've  never  enjoyed  preaching  the  gospel 
more  than  I  have  done  since  we  came  to  Birmingham.  We've 
reached  so  many  people.  I  only  wish  we  could  have  such  a  hall 
wherever  we  go.  I  think  if  we  could  only  take  up  Bingley  Hall, 
we  would  carry  it  round  the  world  with  us,  as  a  place  in  which  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  all  men.  But  I  would  like  you  Birmingham 
people  to  go  with  us.  Well,  then,  if  we  do  our  best  to  get  speak- 
ers for  another  week,  will  you  do  your  best  to  get  hearers  for  the 
speakers!* — (Many  cries  of  "Yes,"  "yes.")  Well,  keep  your 
promise.  Why,  almost  any  man  could  speak  in  this  hall  to  such 
a  meeting  as  this.  The  very  sight  of  you  is  enough  to  make  a 
dumb  dog  bark.  I'll  telegraph  off  to  Liverpool  and  London  to 
send  us  all  the  help  they  can.  There  will  be  a  service  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  when  one  of  your  own  ministers  will  preach.  On  Mon- 
day night  you'll  have  a  thanksgiving  service.  Come  to  it  to  thank 
God  for  having  answered  our  prayers  to  bless  these  meetings. 
Has  God  not  answered  your  prayers? — (Cries  of  "  Yes,"  "yes.") 
Then  on  Tuesday  we'll  get  some  one  else  to  speak.  On 
8 


17©  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT   BRITAIN. 

Wednesday  there  will  be  the  usual  services  in  the  churches  and 
chapels.  On  Thursday  night  there  will  be  another  speaker.  On 
Friday  I  will  come  back,  on  my  way  to  Liverpool,  and  we'll  have 
a  meeting  for  all  the  converts.  Now,  let  all  rise  who  will  support 
the  committee  and  attend  the  different  meetings.  [Almost  the 
entire  audience  stood  up  in  response  to  this  appeal.]  Yes  ;  the 
committee  are  quite  satisfied.  We'll  go  on  then.  Pray  there  may 
be  hundreds  and  thousands  converted  next  week.  If  things  do 
not  always  please  you,  don't  complain  ;  just  pray.  Pray  for  a 
great  blessing  next  week. 

Services  were  held  in  Bingley  Hall,  from  5,000  to  7,000  per- 
sons having  been  present  at  each. 

At  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey's  farewell  service,  Bingley  Hall 
was  once  more  crowded  to  its  utmost,  nearly  1,600  converts' 
tickets  being  applied  for.  It  would  be  manifestly  premature  to 
assert  that  this  number  of  people  have  been  converted  during  the 
previous  three  weeks'  services.  As  Mr.  Moody  said  at  the  Con- 
ference in  London,  on  the  same  day,  they  did  not  desire  to  reckon 
up  the  number  of  converts,  because  they  could  not  judge  of  the 
reality  of  the  cases.  At  the  same  time  we  think  it  very  probable 
that  many  have  been  brought  savingly  to  believe  in  Christ  who 
did  not  apply  for  converts'  tickets.  In  any  case,  the  progress  of 
the  movement  in  Birmingham  has  been  such  as  greatly  to  encour- 
age and  cheer  our  American  brethren  and  those  who  helped  them 
in  their  labors ;  and  we  respond  to  Mr.  Moody's  hope  that  it  may 
"  continue  for  a  year." 

Mr.  Moody's  address  to  the  converts  was,  as  usual,  most  fitting. 
His  parting  sentences  were  tlie  expression  of  affectionate  regard, 
and  it  was  plain,  from  the  demeanor  of  the  audience,  that  the 
parting  on  their  side  was  a  most  reluctant  one. 

Mr.  Sankey  sang  the  farewell  hymn  with  great  pathos  and  feel- 
ing; and  on  leaving  the  hall  both  he  and  Mr.  Moody  were  be- 
sieged with  friends  anxious  to  receive  a  parting  shake  of  the  hand. 
Tlicy  proceeded  to  Liverpool  on  Saturday. 

A  correspondent  writes  concerning  this  meeting:  "We  shall 
never  forget  that   address."     Such  was  the   almost  involuntary 


•*TME   TOY-SHOP    OF   THE    WORLD"    WELCOMES   THEM.        171 

exclamation  of  a  well-dressed  mechanic  who  was  standing  by  us 
in  the  aisle  of  Bingley  Hall.  And  truly  the  work  of  the  Lord  in 
this  town  is  such  as  has  never  before  been  seen  here.  We  were 
praying  and  expecting  great  things,  but  the  blessing  has  exceeded 
our  expectations ;  never  before  have  the  people  of  every  class 
been  so  moved  and  such  glorious  results  followed.  A  week  hav- 
ing elapsed  since  Mr.  Moody  left  us,  we  are  enabled  to  speak  in 
a  measure  of  results.  First,  the  life«of  the  ministers  who  have 
taken  part  has  been  largely  increased,  so  that  the  testimony  of 
many  of  the  hearers  last  Sunday  was,  "  Our  minister  preaches  like 
a  new  man ; "  then  the  renewed  life  of  the  churches  is  already 
manifesting  itself  in  the  desire  to  work  either  in  Sunday-schools 
or  tract  districts ;  and  besides  this,  the  people  outside  are  more 
disposed  to  hear  the  gospel,  many  coming  into  our  churches  last 
Sunday,  and  in  more  cases  than  one  when  notice  was  given  out 
after  the  service  that  inquirers  would  be  spoken  to,  numbers  vary- 
ing from  twenty  to  sixty  passed  into  the  vestry,  and  many  rejoiced 
in  a  new-found  Saviour.  Our  hearts  are  indeed  full  of  praise ; 
should  we  be  silent,  the  stones  might  well  cry  out,  "  But  we  will 
bless  the  Lord  from  this  time  forth,  and  forevermore." 

I  know  of  no  one  of  the  many  blessed  hymns  which  has  more 
struck  the  heart  and  arrested  attention  than  that  sweet  one  whose 
chorus  begins,  "  Oh,  'twas  love,  'twas  wondrous  love,  the  love  of 
God  to  me."  This  love  and  its  manifestation  is  the  theme  of  every 
sermon,  and,  of  course,  God  owns  it.  Ministers  wonder  at  fail- 
ure, and  try  to  discover  the  cause  ;  a  week  of  services  such  as 
Birmingham  has  had  for  the  last  fortnight,  I  think  must  answer 
the  question,  "What  is  the  cause  of  failure?"  for  we  have  seen 
in  the  crowded  meetings,  in  the  overwhelming  number  of  anxious 
ones,  in  the  utter  breaking  down  of  strong  ra^n,  the  secret  of  suc- 
cess^ The  wondrous  love  of  God  has  been  the  weapon  which  has 
been  used ;  failure  in  using  this  weapon  has  been  the  cause  of 
failure  in  result.  Never  has  Birmingham  been  so  mightily  moved  ; 
jn  the  workshops  Sankey's  songs  are  sung,  and  men  who  cared  for 
nore  of  thcst  'hings  are  anxiously  inquiring  after  the  good  news. 
Oh,  may  our  God  carry  on  the  work  begun  with  mighty  power. 


CHAPTER     XIX. 
Liverpool's  Month  of  Mercy. 

The  brethren  revisited  this  great  city  by  the  sea  on  the  7th  of 
February  and  remained  till  March  7,  1875.  Twenty  thousand 
dollars  had  been  expended  for  a  building  capable  of  seating 
eight  thousand  persons,  and,  when  crowded,  several  thousand 
more  were  accommodated.     It  was  named  Victoria  Hall. 

The  Friday  preceding  the  arrival  was  observed  as  a  day  of 
preparation  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  churches,  and  the  first 
meeting  of  the  evangelists  was  on  Sunday  morning,  at  eight 
o'clock,  for  Christian  workers.  This  was  followed  by  the  after- 
noon and  evening  meetings. 

All  Liverpool  was  moved  by  them ;  but  not  with  the  most 
dcsiiable  feelings.  Some  were  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  embittered 
hostility,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  write  and  speak  of  these  ser- 
vants of  Christ  what  had  not  the  shadow  of  truth.  This  very 
opposition,  however,  did  good.  God  makes  *'the  wrath  of  men 
to  praise  Him."  I  have  known  of  some  who  entered  Victoria 
Hall  bitter  enemies,  and  left  it  attached  friends  to  the  move- 
ment. Many  flock  to  the  meetings,  apparently  from  idle  curi- 
osity, and  thousands  under  spiritual  anxiety,  whilst  God's  people 
rally  round  the  evangelists  with  an  enthusiasm  and  hearty  good- 
will which  is  cheering  to  observe. 

At  last  Monday  evening's  meeting,  an  intelligent  young  man 

informed  mc  he  came  into  that  hall  to  scoff  at  all  he  heard.     "I 

believed  only  in  God  and  the  devil ;  the  latter  I  served  well,  and, 

ns  sitting  laughing  at  the  fools  (as  I  then  thought)  about  mc, 

i;2 


Liverpool's  month  of  mercy.  173 

that  beautiful  hymn,  'Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus,  was  sung.  A 
sudden  thrill  passed  through  my  whole  frame,  and  then  like  a  dart 
.ran  through  my  very  heart.  My  feelings  were  awful,  but  I  lis- 
tened to  the  next  verse,  and  felt  there  is  a  Saviour.  Who  is  He? 
Where  is  He.'*  Instantly  I  realized  the  truth,  Jesus  is  the 
Saviour.  I  threw  myself  into  His  loving  arms,  and  here  I  am 
now,  rejoicing  in  Him." 

"  Blessed  be  God,"  I  said,  "  for  such  news.  Now,  brother,  go 
home  and  tell  your  friends  what  great  things  God  hath  done  for 
your  soul." 

"Will  you  pray?"  he  said. 

We  went  together  to  the  throne,  and  then  he  said,  "  God  bless 
you.     I  will  now  live  and  work  for  Jesus." 

The  devil  lays  his  plans,  and  no  doubt  thinks  they  are  well 
arranged,  but  whilst  he  proposes  certain  events,  God  disposes  of 
them  in  a  very  different  way  than  Satan  expected. 

Of  this  I  have  had  an  instance. 

"  I  am  under  a  dreadful  temptation,"  said  a  young  man  to  me. 

"What  is  it?"  I  asked. 

"  I  was  given  drink  by  a  man  professing  to  be  a  Christian,  and 
whom  I  have  heard  preaching  the  truth  to  me  and  others,  but  who 
is  opposed  to  Moody  and  Sankey,  and  I  was  sent  here  by  him 
to  give  annoyance.  Now  I  am  brought  to  Christ,  in  place  of  dis- 
honoring Christ  in  this  meeting,  what  am  I  to  do  to  this  man  ? " 

"  Pray  for  him,"  I  said,  "  and  God  will  give  him  to  you  as  a 
star  for  your  crown.  Tell  him  plainly  his  state,  and  bring  him 
iiere  with  you  next  night." 

"  I  knew  a  lady  who  went  to  a  religious  meeting  an  avowed 
infidel,  sent  there  by  two  sisters-in-law  for  a  similar  purpose  to 
that  which  brought  you  this  night  here.  She  was  brought  to 
Christ,  and  sent  back  to  them  full  of  Jesus,  and  was  the  means 
of  their  saving  conversion  ;  and  now  all  three  are  rejoicing  in  the 
great  salvation  effected  by  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  for  every 
penitent,  believing  child  of  Adam." 

Truly  the  Lord  is  doing  great  things  for  us,  "whereof  we  ctq 
glad.' 


174  MOODY   AND    SANKEV    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

It  may  emphatically  be  said  of  them,  "They  came,  they  spoke, 
they  conquered."  For  twenty  years  I  have  been  more  or  less 
mixed  up  with  the  evangelistic  work  of  the  town,  but  never  have 
I  met  with  more  opposition  and  scorn  to  any  movement  than  the 
present. 

The  erection  of  the  vast  hall  to  hold  10,000  persons,  was  looked 
on  as  monstrous  folly.  As  it  was  being  built,  the  talk  was.  To 
what  purpose  is  this  waste  ?  But  now  what  was  called  Moody's 
folly,  is  seen  to  be  God's  wisdom. 

Men  who  wrote,  spoke  against,  and  laughed  at  it,  now  speak 
with  bated  breath,  come  and  hear,  and  go  with  changed  thoughts. 
"  Nothing  succeeds  like  success,"  is  an  old  world's  adage,  and  in 
this  is  proved  to  be  true  : — 6,000  at  a  midday  prayer-meeting; 
6,000  at  the  afternoon  Bible-lecture  ;  10,000  at  the  evening  meet- 
ing, with  the  inquiry-rooms  full,  are  something  that  even  the  Ex- 
change has  to  admit.  But  beyond  this,  there  is  the  mighty  work- 
ing power  of  God's  Spirit  working  and  acting,  which  no  tables 
can  register  or  numbers  record.  "  'Tis  not  by  might,  nor  by  power, 
but  by  My  Spirit,"  was  the  key-note  of  the  preparatory  meetings, 
which  has  been  steadily  kept  before  all  the  workers.     - 

The  part  allotted  to  me  in  the  great  work  has  enabled  me  to 
see  and  test  much  that  is  going  on.  And  this  I  can  say — there  is 
wheat ;  there  is  chaff.  The  wheat  is  sound,  and  will  be  a  glorious, 
bountiful  harvest.  The  chaff  will  be  blown  away.  Wheat  and 
chaff  always  grow  together.  Never  have  we  been  privileged  to 
see  so  much  real,  genuine  work  —  anxious  faces,  tearful  eyes, 
aching  hearts. 

Mr.  Moody,  after  a  telling  address,  went  into  the  inquiry-room, 
and  his  place  was  occupied  by  a  layman,  who  wielded  the  sword 
of  the  Spirit  with  amazing  power  right  and  left.  His  words, 
powerful  and  well  chosen,  fell  with  force,  and  told  on  the  vast 
audience  that  seemed  spellbound.  Many  seemed  to  be  convicted 
of  sin,  nnfl  hurried  into  the  inquir}'-room. 

Mr.  Moody  remarked  that  many  people  thought  the  Victoria 
Hall  was  a  bad  investment,  but  that,  if  souls  were  born  there,  per-i 
haps  some  of  ihcm  would  like  to  have  a  little  stock  in  it. 


Liverpool's  month  or  mercy.  ly^ 

Mr.  Moody's  earnest  invitation  to  those  who  were  anxious 
about  their  salvation  to  stand  up,  and  afterward  to  meet  him  in 
the  inquir3'-room,  was  responded  to  by  hundreds,  who  were  not 
deterred  from  showing  their  anxiety  by  the  curious  gaze  of  many 
thousand  spectators. 

Many  striking  instances  of  conversion  have  occurred,  and 
other  cases  have  come  under  my  own  observation  in  which  back- 
sliders have  been  led  to  return  to  their  first  love.  One  day  at  the 
noon  prayer-meeting,  Mr.  Moody  told  of  an  interesting  case  of 
conversion  he  had  met  the  night  before.  A  young,  stalwart  man, 
who  was  to  sail  for  America  next  day,  had  come  into  the  meeting. 
He  had  been  pricked  to  the  heart  by  Mr.  Moody's  pointed  appeals, 
and  found  his  way  to  the  inquiry-room,  and  here,  as  he  believed, 
to  lay  his  hitherto  unforgiven  sins  on  Jesus.  Later  in  the  evening 
he  called  on  Mr.  Moody  at  his  hotel,  and  received  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  any  of  the  Christian  friends  in  America  he  might  meet. 
He  was  accompanied  to  the  hotel  by  his  brother,  who  had  come 
from  the  country  with  him  to  see  him  sail,  and  who  seemed  over- 
joyed to  think  that  one  so  nearly  related  to  him  was  taking 
Christ  with  him  ere  he  left  his  native  shores. 

At  the  evening  meetings  the  hall  is  always  crowded  with  some- 
thing like  10,000  people,  and  if  it  were  not  that  the  committee 
kept  a  great  part  of  the  passages  clear  to  allow  of  access  to  the 
inquiry-room,  ev^ery  inch  of  standing  ground  would  be  occupied. 
The  attendance  at  the  noon  prayer-meetings  averages  4,000  to 
5,000,  the  audience,  of  course,  not  being  so  mixed  as  those  in  the 
evening.  One  gratifying  circumstance,  however,  in  connection 
with  the  noon  meeting  should  be  noted,  and  that  is,  the  presence 
of  so  many  of  the  Liverpool  merchants  and  business  men.  I 
have  heard  it  stated  that  between  twelve  and  one,  when  the  noon 
prayer-meeting  is  held,  'Change  is  half  deserted,  and  it  has  been 
remarked  that  no  other  source  of  attraction  has  ever  drawn  so 
many  of  these  busy  men  away  from  their  money-making  for  an 
hour  in  the  middle  of  the  day.  May  they  carry  away  some  truth 
that  will  cling  to  them  when  they  are  tempted  to  forget  God  in 
theii  haste  to  get  rich  I 


176  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

A  t^ery  happy  feature  of  the  work  here,  as  elsewhere,  is  the  s}'m<' 
pathetic  co-operation  of  many  clergymen  and  ministers  of  various 
denominations.  They  appear  on  the  platform  and  take  part  in 
the  services,  as  well  as  in  the  personal  dealing  with  the  anxious. 

"  This  is  glorious  work  ;  this  is  reality.''  Such  was  the  remark 
that  reached  my  ears  one  evening  last  week,  as  I  was  passing 
through  the  inquiry-room  adjoining  Victoria  Hall.  There,  I 
thought,  is  the  whole  movement  in  a  nut-shell.  The  more  I  see 
it,  and  the  more  I  ponder  over  it,  I  am  impressed  with  the  feeling 
of  reality  that  pervades  this  work,  as  it  is  now  going  on  in  Liver- 
pool. Endless  are  the  surmises,  and  very  ludicrous  some  of  the 
guesses,  as  to  the  secret  of  its  wonderful  success.  The  Liver- 
pool critics  (and  their  name  is  legion)  are  fairly  puzzled.  I  sum 
it  all  up  in  the  one  word  reality. 

Mr.  Moody  has  often  been  described,  and  criticised,  and  dis- 
sected, both  by  friends  and  foes,  but  I  think  sufficient  stress  has 
been  laid  on  his  predominating  characteristic  of  reality.  As  he 
said  the  other  day,  he  pulls  up  his  net  anon  to  see  what  he  has 
caught.  This  is  the  highest  test  of  his  reality,  and  the  one  that 
has  evoked  the  greatest  criticism.  But  it  is  the  one  that  has  all 
along  contributed  most  to  the  success  of  the  movement. 

During  the  past  week  the  slain  of  the  Lord  have  been  many. 
Every  evening  has  seen  fresh  groups  scattered  over  the  inquiry- 
room,  with  tearful  eyes  and  troubled  hearts,  drinking  in  the 
affectionate  words  of  invitation,  or  the  plain  words  of  appeal, 
addressed  to  them  by  Mr.  Moody  and  his  co-workers.  People 
who  know  least  about  it  may  affect  to  shrug  the  shoulder  at  the 
inquiry-room,  but  one  or  t\vo  visits  there  would  do  them  good, 
and  probably  convince  them  how  indispensable  it  is  to  success  in 
this  work.  I  hope  one  result  of  this  awakening  in  our  land  will 
be  that  every  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  every  one  who  seeks  to 
speak  to  his  fellow-men  about  salvation,  will  not  only  cast  out 
the  net,  but  will  draw  it  up  every  time. 

The  leading  attraction  of  the  meetings  last  week  was  Mr. 
Moody's  Biblc-lccturcs.  On  each  occasion  the  hall  was  crowded  ; 
BO  that  on  a  moderate  computation,  the  seed  of  the  word  of  God 


LIVERPOOL'S    MONTH    OF    MERCY.  17I 

relating  to  these  two  most  important  subjects  was  sown  in  ths 
hearts  of  some  60,000  or  70,000  persons,  many  of  them  from  a 
long  distance. 

The  lectures  are  a  treat  of  no  ordinary  kind.  As  expository 
discourses  they  are  most  valuable,  and  reveal,  to  some  extent, 
how  Mr.  Moody  has  got,  to  use  a  common  phrase,  "  the  Bible  at 
his  finger-ends."  But  these  lectures  have  a  wonderful  hortatory 
as  well  as  expository  value. 

It  is  a  gratifying  fact  that  the  attendance  at  the  evening  meet- 
ings chiefly  continues  to  increase.  During  the  first  week  of  the 
services  the  Victoria  Hall  was  almost  sufficient  to  hold  the 
crowds  of  eager  listeners  ;  at  any  rate,  the  overflow  was  not  con- 
sidered so  great  as  to  necessitate  the  opening  of  other  places. 
Last  week,  however,  overflow  meetings  were  held,  sometimes  in 
two  and  sometimes  in  three  diflerent  places. 

One  evening  I  went  to  St.  John's  Church,  where  I  found  W. 
H.  M.  Aitken  and  the  vicar  of  the  church  conducting  the  service 
after  the  model  of  the  services  in  Victoria  Hall.  The  body  of 
the  church  was  filled  partly  with  the  overflow  from  the  hall,  and 
partly  with  those  who  had  been  induced  to  enter  by  personal 
solicitation,  and  by  hearing  a  group  of  young  men  singing  hymns 
in  the  church-yard.  It  was  a  motley  company,  and  a  great  ma- 
jority consisted  of  those  who,  from  their  dress  and  appearance, 
do  not  often  find  their  way  to  God's  house.  There  were  num- 
bers of  men  such  as  one  sees  lounging  at  street-corners  and 
about  pubHc-houses,  many  young  girls  in  working  attire  and 
without  bonnets,  and  a  number  of  rough,  neglected-looking 
street  Arabs.  Their  behavior,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  was 
most  orderly  and  attentive.  A  good  sprinkling  remained  at  the 
close  to  be  conversed  with,  and  many  of  them  were  enabled  to 
lay  their  sins  on  Jesus,  or,  as  the  speaker  said,  to  accept  the  fact 
that  God  had  laid  them  there  nearly  nineteen  hundred  years  ago. 

It  is  interesting  and  refreshing  to  notice  how  all  grades  of 
society  and  all  ages  are  represented  among  the  anxious  who 
throng  the  inquiry-room  at  the  close  of  Mr.  Moody's  addresses. 
From  the  richly-dressed  lady  to  the  poor  waif  of  the  street,  with 


iy8  MOODY    AND   SANKEY   IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

scarce  enough  of  clothing  to  cover  his  nakedness  ;  from  the  boy 
and  girl  of  eight  or  ten  years  to  the  horny-handed,  gray-headed 
working-man,  with  all  the  intervening  stages  of  life— there  you 
find  all,  burdened  with  the  same  sense  of  sin,  and  afterward 
rejoicing  in  the  same  Saviour. 

The  special  work  among  the  young  men,  which  has  been  car- 
ried on  in  other  towns  where  the  evangelists  have  been,  is  being 
organized  here  also.  On  Saturday  evening  there  was  a  meeting 
for  young  men,  chiefly  to  make  arrangements,  at  which  Mr. 
Moody  was  present.  In  the  meantime  the  meetings  will  be  held 
in  Newsome's  Circus,  and  shortly  it  is  expected  that  the  concert 
room  of  St.  George's  Hall  will  be  available. 

Sunday  last  was  another  day  of  much  sowing  of  the  precious 
seed  of  the  word,  and  reaping  too.  The  early  meeting  for 
"workers"  was  some  8,000  strong. 

The  afternoon  meeting  for  women  was  a  wonderful  sight.  The 
hall  was  packed  to  excess,  and  many  hundreds  failing  to  gain 
entrance,  an  overflow  meeting  was  held  in  Newsome's  Circus. 
Mr.  Sankey  sang  the  solo  "  Mary  Magdalene  "  amidst  the  most 
profound  silence,  and  the  pathetic  and  beautiful  words  of  the 
hymn  brought  tears  to  many  an  eye.  Mr.  Moody  spoke  on 
"  What  Christ  is  to  us,"  a  most  pregnant  and  powerful  address 
on  a  theme  that  he  said  it  would  take  all  eternity  to  exhaust. 
As  at  other  times,  Mr.  Moody  asked  those  who  wished  to  be 
prayed  for  to  rise  up,  and  hundreds  upon  hundreds  responded  in 
all  parts  of  the  house.  A  more  touching  or  cheering  sight  I 
never  witnessed.  Mr.  Sankey  sang  "  Almost  persuaded,"  and 
Mr.  Moody  said  that  there  were  so  many  anxious,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  speak  with  them  ;  so  he  asked  them  to  go  home, 
and  at  five  o'clock  to  take  God's  Word,  and  kneel  down  pleading 
His  promise,  and  commit  themselves  to  Him.  All  the  Christians 
in  the  hall  would  be  praying  for  them  at  that  hour.  He  prayed 
that  they  mii^ht  be  altogether  persuaded. 

Mr.  Moody  repeated  his  afternoon  address  to  an  immense 
audience  of  men  in  the  evening,  and  in  the  course  of  it  made 
Strong  reference  to  the  great  curse  of  Liverpool,  the  drink  traffic, 


Liverpool's  month  of  mercy. 


179 


amid  the  approval  of  the  vast  congregation.  He  asked  thcin  to 
show  their  detestation  of  it  by  becoming  abstainers.  There  were 
hundreds  of  inquirers  at  the  close.  A  deeply  interesting  meeting 
of  about  7,000  young  men  was  held  in  the  Circus  from  nine  to 
ten  o'clock,  conducted  by  Mr.  Henry  Drummond.  These  meet- 
ings are  to  be  continued  every  night. 

Valuable  testimony  was  given  a«s  to  the  tangible  effects  of  the 
work  in  Liverpool.  It  was  stated  that  one  class  reached  had 
been  those  who,  though  religiously  trained,  had,  during  these 
special  meetings,  seen  a  new  meaning  and  power  in  the  truths 
with  which  they  were  familiar.  Many  sailors,  and  ship  captains, 
too,  had  come  to  the  meetings  and  been  guided  into  the  true 
haven  of  rest  and  peace.  Then  there  were  many  workingmen 
who  had  plunged  into  the  depths  of  intemperance,  and  whose  in- 
sulted and  injured  wives,  after  being  driven  from  their  homes, 
had  been  compelled  to  support  themselves  and  their  children  for 
years  together.  These  wives,  in  this  day  of  grace,  had  sent  let- 
ters to  their  husbands,  extending  their  forgiveness  and  implor- 
ing them  to  come  to  Victoria  Hall  and  seek  forgiveness  of  the 
Saviour.  Some  of  them  had  come  and  found  that  forgiveness, 
and  gone  back  to  lighten  their  homes  again  with  a  new  lustre  and 

joy- 
Allusion  was  made  by  one  of  the  speakers  to  another  class, 
one  much  too  large  and  full  of  strange  and  painful  interest,  con- 
sisting of  those  who  have  in  past  years  made  a  profession  of  love 
to  Christ,  but  have  wandered 

"  Away  on  the  mountains,  wild  and  bare," 

and  have  been  glad  to  take  of  the  husks  that  the  swine  did  eat. 
It  had  often  been  asked  whether  the  converts  connected  with  this 
revival  would  stand  the  test  of  time,  and  endure  the  temptations 
of  the  world.  When  the  question  is  put,  as  it  often  is,  "  Brother, 
have  all  your  converts  stood  fast?"  I  can  only  confess  that, 
during  the  forty  years  but  one  that  I  have  preached  in  this  town, 
I  have  missed  a  great  many  from  the  fold  ;  but  I  have  found 
some  of  them  in  that  inquiry-room.     The  first  night  the  inquiry- 


l8o  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   GREAT   BRITAIN. 

room  was  needed,  I  lingered  on  the  platform,  not  intending  to 
go  into  the  room,  when  a  message  came  to  me,  "  You  are  wanted 
immediately ;  an  inquirer  wishes  to  see  you."  I  went,  and  I  had 
not  seen  that  face — I  will  not  tell  you  whether  it  was  man  or 
woman — for  twenty  years  ;  and  I  found  that  soul  had  wandered 
away,  and  had  kept  out  of  my  sight  with  perfect  success.  The 
first  conviction  was  to  go  and  tell  him  by  whose  hands  they  had 
been  received  into  the  Christian  Church.  Many  a  wanderer  has 
come,  and  Christ  alone  knows  how  many  more  He  will  welcome 
back  to  His  all-forgiving  arms,  and  fill  our  hearts  with  a  gladness 
they  have  never  experienced  before. 

And  so  the  great  work  flows  steadily  on.  As  the  days  and 
weeks  roll  past,  and  the  same  scenes  are  so  often  repeated,  it  is 
difficult  to  find  fresh  terms  in  which  to  describe  "  these  wondrous 
gatherings  day  by  day."  The  four  meetings  on  Sunday  last  may 
briefly  be  stated  as  a  repetition  of  those  on  the  Sunday  before. 
All  crowded  to  the  utmost  capacity  of  the  great  hall,  and,  in  some 
cases,  especially  at  the  afternoon  and  evening  meetings,  multi- 
tudes turned  away  for  lack  of  room. 

The  service  for  "  non-church  goers  *'  at  eleven  o'clock  was  a 
fresh  illustration  of  the  power  of  Christ's  wondrous  love,  or  "com- 
passion," to  melt  the  hearts  of  the  most  supine,  and  to  move  the 
consciences  of  the  most  sin-stricken.  The  arrows  of  conviction 
went  home  right  and  left,  and  there  was  a  large  ingathering  of 
souls  at  the  close.  Mr.  Moody  used,  by  way  of  illustration,  a 
very  touching  chapter  of  personal  family  history  that  brought 
tears  to  many  eyes. 

At  the  three  o'clock  service  for  women,  the  hall  was  filled  to 
overflowing  an  hour  before  the  time.  The  women  are  quite  as  de- 
termined in  their  efforts  to  get  in  as  the  stronger  sex,  and  some  say 
not  quite  so  well  behaved  under  the  trying  conditions  of  a  crowd. 
To  my  mind,  these  Sunday  afternoon  meetings  for  women  have 
been  the  most  wonderful  of  all,  and  certainly  not  the  least  impor- 
tant, when  we  consider  the  power  for  good  or  evil  that  must  be  ex- 
erted by  so  many  thousands  of  our  mothers  and  sisters.  I  must  say 
these  meetings  have  proved  that  the  women  are  not  only  quicker 


Liverpool's  month  of  mercy.  i8i 

in  their  apprehension  of  the  truth,  but  more  honest  and  courageous 
in  avowing  their  apprehension  of  it.  At  the  close  of  Mr.  Moody's 
searching  address  on  '*  Excuses,"  a  very  considerable  proportion 
of  the  audience  promptly  stood  up  to  show  that  they  wished  to 
excuse  themselves  no  longer  from  accepting  the  gracious  invita- 
tion to  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb.  Mr.  Moody  spoke  to 
the  inquirers  that  filled  the  inquiry-room,  in  language  and  by 
illustration  so  beautifully  simple  and  apt,  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  conceive  any  difficulty  could  have  remained  in  their 
minds.  At  the  same  time  Mr.  Sankey  addressed,  in  a  very  art 
less,  homely,  and  touching  way,  a  large  body  of  anxious  inquirers 
who  remained  in  the  hall. 

Mr.  Moody,  before  leaving  Liverpool,  addressed  an  immense 
meeting  in  behalf  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  building,  inscribed,  "  This  memo- 
rial stone  was  laid  by  D.  L.  Moody  of  Chicago,  2d  March,  1875." 
He  used  a  silver  trowel  presented  to  him  for  the  occasion. 

The  closing  services  were  held  on  Sunday,  the  7th  of  March, 
at  eight  a.  m.,  for  Christian  workers ;  at  eleven  A.  m.  for  young 
converts  and  inquirers ;  at  three  p.  m.  for  women  only ;  and  at 
eight  p.  M.  for  men  only.     Each  was  very  largely  attended. 

In  1873,  not  a  convert  was  known  to  have  been  made  by  the 
meetings  held  by  the  evangelists  in  Liverpool,  and  now  behold 
the  wonderful  victories  of  the  Truth  I 


CHAPTER      XX. 

Mighty  London  is  Blessed. 

The  scale  of  magnitude  by  which  the  work  was  carried  on  in 
the  metropolis  may  be  measured  in  our  thoughts  by  one  fact — 
over  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  were  expended  in 
the  prosecution  during  the  four  months  from  its  commencement, 
March  9th  to  July  nth,  1875.  During  the  first  month  the  meet- 
ings were  held  in  North  London,  and  in  Agricultural  Hall,  the 
largest  building  in  that  quarter.  It  is  said  that  once,  at  the  Agri- 
cultural Hall,  Mr.  Spurgeon  preached  to  twenty-two  thousand 
people.  But  for  the  different  style  of  the  arrangements  in  the 
vast  interior,  that  would  probably  have  been  the  number  present 
on  Tuesday  night,  when  the  Chicago  evangelists  entered  on  their 
London  campaign.  As  it  was,  the  audience  could  not  be  less 
than  eighteen  thousand;  in  all  likelihood  it  reached  twenty  thou- 
sand. The  chairs  numbered  fourteen  thousand  according  to  some 
authorities,  fifteen  thousand  say  others  ;  and  not  one  of  these,  nor 
scarcely  an  inch  of  standing-ground,  was  left  unoccupied,  while 
the  doors  had  to  be  closed  in  the  face  of  many  hundreds  for 
whom  there  was  no  room.  The  anxiety  to  procure  admission 
ivas  indicated  by  the  fact  that  fully  two  hours  before  the  time  ad- 
vertised for  the  beginning  of  the  service  crowds  began  to  assem- 
ble. We  were  there  a  few  minutes  after  six,  and  already  the 
building  seemed  to  be  more  than  half  full,  while  the  stream  of 
people  entering  was  in  full  fiood,  and  required  not  many  minutes 
to  crowd  e\'ery  vacant  spot,  excepting  only  the  reserved  seats 
near  the  platform,  for  which  tickets  were  required  At  half-past 
182 


MIGHTY   LONDON    IS    BLESSED.  1 83 

six  the  singing  of  a  hymn  was  begun  in  a  distant  part  of  the  hall ; 
but  the  Rev.  Thain  Davidson,  from  his  seat  on  the  platform,  re- 
quested the  stewards  to  repress  volunteer  attempts  of  this  sort, 
and  in  a  moment  his  wish  was  obeyed.  The  arrangements  were, 
indeed,  admirable.  Ushers,  each  invested  with  an  official  rod, 
were  scattered  all  over  the  building.  Those  near  me  were  younor 
merchants  and  professional  men ;  and  they  di|l  their  work  with 
quiet,  effective  energy.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  screw  loose 
anywhere.  The  silent  seating  of  so  many  thousands  was  a  mas- 
terpiece of  administrative  care  and  skill. 

The  appearance  of  the  vast  throng  was  in  itself  a  sight  worth 
going  many  miles  to  see.  No  architectural  features  of  the  build- 
ing came  between  the  eye  and  the  great  sea  of  humanity  that 
seemed  to  stretch  as  far  as  the  vision  could  go.  There  was  abun- 
dance of  light  shed  from  thousands  of  gas-burners  beading  the 
walls — these  at  times  running  in  straight  lines,  and  at  regular  in- 
tervals assuming  a  semicircular  form.  A  broad  strip  of  red  cloth 
running  round  beneath  the  lines  and  arches  of  light  bore  appro- 
priate passages  in  white  lettering.  The  first  of  these,  on  the 
right  of  the  platform,  was,  "Repent  ye,  and  believe  the  Gospel "; 
and  the  first  on  the  left,  "  The  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life."  At 
the  centre  of  the  platform  there  is  a  small  dais,  covered  with  red 
cloth,  and  having  a  slight  rail  round  it,  and  a  little  book-board  at 
one  corner.  This  is  for  the  president  of  the  meetings.  On  his 
right  are  the  seats  for  the  choir,  and  Mr.  Sankey's  American 
^gan.  The  seats  on  the  left  are  for  the  committee  and  others 
taking  part  in  the  service.  On  and  around  the  j)latform  were 
hundreds  of  leading  men  of  all  the  evangelical  communions,  min- 
isters and  laymen  ;  and  it  struck  me  that  the  Congregational  and 
Presbyterian  churches  were  represented  in  special  strength,  es- 
pecially the  former  body.  The  Earl  of  Cavan  and  Lord  Rad- 
stock  occupied  seats  on  the  platform. 

At  seven  o'clock  Rev.  Thain  Davidson  gave  out  the  hymn,  "I 
hear  Thy  welcome  voice,"  and  the  volume  of  sound  which  rose 
from  the  audience  indicated  that  it  was  a  flimiliar  strain  to  the 
most  of  the  people  present.    Then,  after  a  brief  interval,  the  hymn, 


184  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   GREAT   BRITAIIf. 

"Tell  me  the  old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and  His  love,"  was  finely 
sung  by  the  choir,  which  was  composed  of  two  hundred  voices. 
At  lialf-past  seven  to  a  moment,  Mr.  Moody  stepped  on  to  the 
dais,  while  Mr.  Sankey  took  his  place  at  the  organ;  and  the  for- 
mer, in  the  least  conventional  of  voices,  said,  "Let  us  rise  and 
sing  to  the  praise  of  God.  Let  us  praise  Him  for  what  He  is 
going  to  do  in  London."  The  response,  as  the  people  sung  the 
familiar  Doxology,  was  thrilling;  and  no  sooner  had  the  strain 
ceased  than  the  Rev.  Mr.  Billing,  the  incumbent  of  the  nearest 
cliurch,  offered  prayer.  "  We  bless  Thee,  that  we  have  seen  this 
day  and  this  hour,"  he  said ;  and  hundreds  gave  audible  vent  to 
a  thanksgiving  that  was  uttered  with  deep  fervor.  Very  hearty, 
too,  were  the  "Amens"  which  followed  the  request  that  God 
might  be  pleased  to  "  speak  to  all  London  "  by  the  mouth  of  His 
servants  from  the  other  side  of  the  sea.  Mr.  Moody  gave  out  the 
Scotch  version  of  the  hundredth  Psalm,  Mr.  Sankey  saying,  "  Let 
us  rise  and  sing.  Let  all  the  people  sing."  To  all,  but  more 
especially  to  the  Scottish  friends,  that  was  a  soul-stirring  strain. 

Mr.  Moody  then  stated  that  he  had  that  day  received  despatches 
from  all  the  great  cities  in  Britain,  letting  him  know  that  the  peO' 
pie  were  praying  for  London.  All  their  expectations  must  be  in 
vain  unless  they  were  depending  upon  God.  He  therefore  asked 
them  to  spend  a  few  moments  in  silent  prayer.  Hereupon  a 
great  calm  fell  upon  the  assembly,  and  every  head  was  bowed. 
In  a  minute  or  two  the  hush  was  broken  by  the  voice  of  Mr. 
Moody,  who  prayed  that  God's  blessing  might  rest  upon  the  worl* 
on  which  they  were  now  entering,  and  that  many  might  be  encour- 
aged to  go  out  and  labor  in  this  dark  city.  "  It  is  a  great  city," 
he  said,  "  but  Thou  art  a  great  God.  May  we  ask  great  things, 
and  expect  them."  He  gave  special  thanks  for  the  many  minis- 
ters present,  and  prayed  that  there  might  be  "no  strife  among 
the  herdmen."  Mr.  Sankey  then  sang  the  solo,  "Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth passeth  by,"  explaining  before  he  did  so  that  it  was  simply  a 
Christian  song.  "  May  the  Lord  bless  the  singing  of  this  song 
here,  as  He  has  blessed  it  elsewhere,"  said  Mr.  Sankey,  and  he 
requeued  the  people  to  keep  very  still.     The  first  stanza,  and 


MIGHTY   LONDON    IS    BLESSED.  1 85 

especially  the  line,  "  What  means  this  strange  commotion  ? "  was 
thrilling  in  its  effect;  but  a  slight  disturbance  in  a  distant  part 
of  the  hall  somewhat  marred  the  closing  verses.  At  the  end 
of  the  piece  some  present  began  to  applaud ;  but  they  were 
instantly  rebuked  into  silence  by  a  murmured  "  Hush ! "  from 
thousands  of  lips. 

On  Wednesday  evening  the  second  meeting  was  held  in,  the 
Agricultural  Hall.  The  attendance  was  not  nearly  so  large  as  on 
the  first  evening,  resulting  from  the  fact  that  Mr.  Moody  requested 
the  doors  to  be  closed  at  half-past  seven,  thus  preventing  many 
thousands  who  were  unable  to  attend  so  early  from  gaining  ad- 
mission. 

It  was  speedily  apparent  that  great  blessing  from  on  high  was 
present  in  that  meeting.  The  address  was  full  of  power ;  anec- 
dote, illustration,  Scripture  entreaty,  persuasion,  succeeded  each 
other  again  and  again,  with  lightning  speed  and  force,  while  the 
vast  audience  listened  intently.  As  the  interest  heightened,  and 
story  after  story  was  told,  many  could  be  seen  wiping  the  tears 
openly,  apparently  unconscious  of  what  they  were  doing.  The 
graphic  picture  of  the  meeting  of  Bartimeus  and  Zaccheus,  after- 
the  former  had  been  healed,  was  thoroughly  enjoyed ;  and  the 
quiet  hit  at  those  "who  don't  believe  in  sudden  conversions,"  in 
the  statement  that  Zaccheus  "  was  converted  between  the  branches 
and  the  ground,"  was  greatly  enjoyed.  The  story  that  followed, 
of  "  the  young  man  converted  on  his  mother's  grave,"  gave  occa- 
sion for  an  impassioned  appeal  to  turn  to  Jesus  then  and  there. 
Silent  prayer  followed  the  conclusion  of  the  address ;  and,  amid 
a  hush  that  was  almost  awful,  the  sound  of  music  floated  on  the 
air,  and  Mr.  Sankey  sang  softly,  "Come  home — come  home." 
Every  head  bowed,  thousands  earnestly  praying,  while  the  soft 
music  seemed  to  enter  into  the  very  souls  of  that  mass  of  human- 
ity, bowing  and  swaying  even  the  hardest  to  thoughts  of  repent- 
ance and  prayer.  Then  Lord  Radstock  concluded  with  prayer, 
and  ibe  hymn,  "I  hear  Thy  welcome  voice,"  was  sung  as  Mr. 
Moody  went  from  the  Hall  to  the  first  inquiry-meeting  in  London. 
Many  hundreds  followed  him,  but  whether  workers  or  inquirers 


1 86  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

did  not  at  the  time  appear,  and  it  is  far  too  early  yet  to  speak  of 
results. 

On  Thursday  Mr.  Moody  presided  for  the  second  time  at  the 
noon  prayer-meeting.  There  was  also  a  falling  oft'  in  the  attend- 
ance here  compared  with  the  day  before ;  but  the  great  Hall  was 
nearly  filled,  and  would  doubtlessly  have  been  filled  to  overflow- 
ing during  the  service  had  the  doors  remained  open.  Mr.  Moody 
was  just  a  very  little  bitter  in  saying,  "I  don't  know  what  some 
men  would  do  at  a  Pentecost,"  or  his  earnestness  seemed  intensi- 
fied to  bitterness ;  but  this  disappeared  when  he  spoke  of  a  boy 
of  fourteen  with  a  Bible  under  his  arm,  whom  he  had  met  in  the 
inquiry-room  the  previous  night,  and  asked  as  to  his  presence 
there.  The  boy  replied  that  he  was  a  Christian,  hoped  to  meet 
some  little  boy  like  himself  to  tell  about  Jesus.  Afterward  the 
boy  was  seen  kneeling  with  another  in  a  corner.  Mr.  Sankey 
also  spoke  earnestly  in  defence  of  the  inquiry-room — asking  ob- 
jectors to  visit  and  see  for  themselves,  instead  of  finding  fault 
beforehand ;  adding,  warmly,  "  It  don't  take  half  a  man  to  find 
fault."  The  meeting  ended  as  usual ;  but  after  its  close  there 
appeared  to  be  an  impromptu  reunion  of  nearly  all  the  evangeli- 
cal workers  in  London,  the  resemblance  being  almost  perfect  to 
one  of  the  evening  conferences  at  Mildmay  Park. 

The  third  evening  service  was  much  more  largely  attended 
than  the  second.  Much  better  order  was  observed  than  at  the 
commencement  of  the  previous  evening,  the  meeting  being  admi- 
rably controlled.  The  address  was  most  solemn  and  searching 
in  character,  concludinjr  with  an  exhortation  to  immediate  and 
final  decision.  Mr.  Moody  ended  his  discourse  by  prayer.  Then 
"  Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus  "  was  sung;  then  silent  prayer ;  next, 
"Guide  me,  O  Thou  great  Jehovah!"  then  the  benediction  and 
the  inquiry-meeting. 

On  Friday  the  great  hall  for  the  noon  prayer-meeting  had  a  glo- 
rious gathering,  and  there  were  quite  as  many  present  as.  on  the 
previous  Jay,  but  notably  men  ;  the  ladies  could  not  face  the  ter- 
rible cold  and  sleet. 

After  singing,  a  gentleman  spoke  earnestly  of  the  way  and  the 


MIGHTY    LONDON    IS    BLESSED. 


187 


need  of  working  for  Jesus.  He  was  followed  by  another,  who 
told  a  touching  story  of  how  the  lost  are  found  in  London.  A 
tract-distributor  offered  a  man  a  tract  on  Waterloo  Bridge ;  it 
was  declined  with  the  remark,  "I  shall  be  in  hell  before  night"; 
the  words  were  heard  and  answered,  "  No,  you  will  not,  for  I'm 
going  to  heaven,  and  will  stick  to  you  all  day."  They  left  the 
bridge  together,  the  hungry  man  was  supplied  with  food  and 
taken  to  a  place  of  worship.  There  he  fell  asleep.  "  Perhaps 
he  has  been  walking  all  night,"  said  his  friend ;  "  let  him  sleep !  " 
Service  over,  he  was  conveyed  home  to  supper,  inquiring  con- 
cerning all  this  kindness,  "  I V/ia/^s  uj>?"  He  was  fed,  tended, 
reasoned  with,  instructed,  and  brought  to  the  way  of  heaven, 
instead  of  being  in  hell,  as  he  had  said. 

So  ends  the  first  three  of  Mr.  Moody's  noon  prayer-meetings 
and  the  first  three  nights  of  work  in  London.  And  it  is  simple 
truth  to  state,  that  such  meetings  were  never  held  before  in  Lon- 
don, if  ever  they  were  in  the  world's  history.  In  /Aree  days  of 
noon  and  evening  service,  about  eighty  thousand  have  Hstened  to 
'  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  Well  might  Mr.  Moody 
express  his  thankfulness  to  God — the  encouragement  he  had 
received  and  felt,  and  his  deep  sense  of  the  sympathy  and  help 
extended  to  him  and  his  colleague  in  their  great  v/ork.  Well 
might  he  dissolve  in  broken  accents  and  tears  of  entreaty  for  a 
rich  blessing  on  himself  and  those  who,  laboring  with  him,  will 
share  his  eternal  rest  and  reward.  Surely,  when  bankers  and 
rich  merchants,  and  ministers  holding  high  official  positions, 
are  content  to  be  doorkeepers,  it  must  be  said,  "We  never  saw 
it  after  this  fashion,"  and  this  was  exactly  the  case  at  the  door  of 
Exeter  Hall  yesterday. 

Mr.  Moody  took  for  his  text  Isa.  Iv.  6,  stating  for  two  evenings 
he  had  dwelt  on  man  seeking  God,  but  now  he  would  speak  of 
God  seeking  man ;  yet  recommending  earnestness  in  seeking 
God  by  many  touching  incidents  and  suggestions.  This,  among 
others,  he  thought  "the  dying  thief  might  have  had  a  praying 
mother  "  He  also  turned  to  the  ministers  around  him  and  asked, 
"  Did  they  believe  that  God  was  present,  and  willing  to  save  ? " 


l88        MOODY  AND  SANKEY  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

and  was  instantly  answered  by  an  audible  "Yes."  A  tearful, 
impassioned  appeal  followed  to  all  classes  to  seek  the  Lord,  and 
He  would  assuredly  be  found.  Silent  prayer  succeeded,  and 
Mr.  Sankey  sang  "Almost  persuaded."  Then  the  audience  were 
dismissed,  and  all  anxious,  and  all  workers,  were  invited  to 
remain,  an  invitation  that  was  accepted  by  several  thousands) 
The  whole  space  under  the  arched  room  was  occupied  by  seekers 
and  workers,  while  the  responses  to  earnest  prayers  rolled  around 
like  the  deep  tones  of  the  great  sea  waves  at  night.  The  Lord 
was  there.  Inquirer  after  inquirer  made  themselves  manifest* 
until  there  were  scores  in  the  inquiry-room,  and  scores  remaining 
in  the  hall  speaking  with  the  workers  there.  In  the  inquiry- 
room  were  seekers  and  workers  in  every  direction,  and  very  many 
found  peace  in  believing.  One  fine  young  man  fell  to  the  lot  of 
the  writer,  and  it  was  emphatically  good  to  watch  the  dawning  of 
divine  truth  on  the  mind,  as  shown  in  the  intelligent  face — to  see 
the  look  of  anxiety  and  fear  give  place  to  the  knowledge  and  love 
of  God — to  watch  the  birth  of  the  soul  to  eternal  life  bring  forth 
that  look  of  brightness  on  the  face  which  is  never  seen  from  any 
other  cause.  One  young  lady  said  "  she  was  so  happy,  she  seemed 
to  tread  on  air";  and  in  instance  after  instance  the  testimony 
grew  and  multiplied,  till  we  could  only  rejoice  in  believing  that 
numbers  were  born  again — not  of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  the 
incorruptible,  which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever.  Then  the  long, 
happy  evening  closed  by  Mr.  Moody  calling  the  workers 
together,  and  giving  some  brotherly  advice  and  counsel  concern- 
ing the  details  of  work  in  the  inquiry-room. 

Oh  for  the  time  of  blessing  1  Oh  for  the  rain  upon  the  weary  I 
Oh  for  the  coming,  in  mightiest  power,  of  the  loving  Spirit  and  the 
King  our  Brother,  among  the  ruined  and  lost — among  the  weary 
and  burdened  laborers  on  this  rough  and  stony  ground !  Our 
Father,  hear  and  answer  Thy  children's  heart-cry,  for  Jesus'  sake  ! 

On  Sunday  morning,  March  14,  the  usual  unbroken^ quiet  of 
Islington  experienced  a  striking  change.  From  every  direction 
solitaires,  couples,  and  bands  of  well-dressed  people  were  hasten- 
ing  to   tJie   Agricultural   Hall.     Many   parties   of  singers   had 


MIGHTY   LONDON    IS    BLESSED. 


189 


arranged  to  meet  in  their  different  localities,  and  inarched  with 
songs  to  their  destination.  Sunday-school  teachers  resident  in 
the  line  of  march  near  to  the  Hall  had  invited  their  fellow-laborers 
to  breakfast  at  a  very  unusual  hour ;  while  the  vendors  of  hymns 
and  papers  round  the  Hall  took  their  usual  week-day  positions, 
and  transacted  a  large  amount  of  buying  and  selling,  to  which 
multitudes  made  strong  and  indignant  objection.  Pouring  in  at 
all  the  entrances  to  the  Hall,  there  was  speedily  convened  such 
a  gathering  of  its  Christian  workers  as  London  had  never  seen. 
It  was  a  complete  r^-union.  Friends,  whom  the  exigencies  of 
work  had  separated  for  years,  met  and  clasped  hands  once  more  ; 
young  men  grown  old  in  service  met  with  others  in  like  condition, 
whom  they  had  labored  with  in  years  of  strength ;  and  comely 
matrons'  faces  were  recognized  as  those  of  former  girls  in  Sunday- 
schools.  Long  before  all  old  friends  could  be  recognized  and 
greeted,  the  time  for  the  service  arrived,  and  the  evangelists  stood 
face  to  face  with  many  thousands  of  the  Christian  workers  of  the 
great  metropolis  for  the  first  time. 

Cool,  i^rompt,  and  business-like  as  ever,  Mr.  Moody  announced 
the  first  song  would  be  "  Hold  the  fort,"  which  was  sung  with  a 
vigor  that  left  nothing  to  be  desired. 

Mr.  Moody  narrated  a  striking  instance  of  a  Sunday-school 
superintendent  who  was  not  converted,  but  finding  this  to  be  so, 
v/ent  honestly  to  his  minister  and  offered  to  resign.  The  minister 
suggested  a  more  excellent  way — that  the  superintendent  should 
first  turn  to  the  Lord  at  once  and  then  continue  his  labors. 
This  was  done ;  he  turned  to  the  willing  Saviour,  and  then  became 
the  means  of  the  conversion  of  the  teachers  and  a  great  revival  in 
the  school.  It  was  the  duty  of  each  Christian — not  duty,  but  privi- 
lege (Away  with  mere  duty  I  we  did  not  talk  oi  duty  to  wives  and 
mothers,  and  why  in  religion  ?) — to  speak  to  some  person  daily. 
For  twelve  years  there  had  scarcely  been  a  day  in  which  he  had 
not  done  this.  Seek  out  fpends,  and  bring  them  into  the  current, 
that  they  might  get  a  blessing  and  pass  it  on.  We  must  also  get 
into  sympathy  with  the  unsaved.  When  he  was  laboring  in  the 
school  at  Chicago,  a  teacher,  who  was  going  away  to  die,  came  to 


190  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

him  in  bitter  trouble  about  his  unconverted  class.  He  felt  his 
strength  too  far  gone  to  visit  them  ;  they  were  unsaved,  and  he 
was  leaving  them — going  away,  for  ever.  Mr.  Moody  procured  a 
carriage,  and  they  went  together  day  after  day  for  ten  days,  until 
the  teacher  had  seen  all,  pleaded  with  all,  and  won  them  all  for 
Jesus.  The  tearful  eyes,  the  pale  face,  and  the  deep  sympathy 
had  triumphed  for  Christ !  Then  they  all  met  him  on  the  plat- 
form, and  the  wave  of  his  hand  from  the  carriage  was  a  last,  long 
flirewell.  The  effect  produced  by  this  narration  was  very  deep. 
Sobs  and  tears  were  almost  universal  The  ministers  on  the  plat- 
form were  wiping  both  eyes  and  glasses,  and  some  were  literally 
scooping  away  the  tears  with  their  hands.  Strong  men  were  weep- 
ing like  children,  and  the  speaker  himself  wept  abundantly  as 
he  remembered  and  depicted  the  touching  scene.  Yes,  he  con- 
tinued, we  must  get  in  sympathy — make  their  case  ours,  their 
troubles  and  sorrows  ours,  and  then  we  shall  have  prevailing 
power.  He  spoke  of  a  poor  mother,  whose  child  had  been 
drowned  in  procuring  drift-wood  from  the  river,  and  whom  he 
visited  along  with  his  little  daughter.  "  If  that  was  me,"  said  my 
child,  "  wouldn't  you  feel  bad,  father  ?  Don't  you  feel  bad  for  the 
poor  mother  1  "  This  unlocked  the  springs  of  sympathy,  and  I 
did  feel  bad  for  her.  I  found  a  grave  for  the  poor  child,  and  after- 
ward bought  ground  for  a  Sunday-school  lot,  to  bury  a  hundred 
of  our  poor  little  scholars.  In  the  midst  of  a  most  striking  scene 
of  weeping,  such  as  that  hall  had  never  seen  before,  the  address 
concluded,  and  Mr.  Moody  attempted  to  pray.  So  deeply  was  he 
moved,  that  he  was  compelled  to  pause  in  his  prayer,  amid  dead 
silence,  to  recover  himself,  and  be  able  to  proceed.  Then  we 
sang,  "Work,  for  the  night  is  coming,"  and  the  benediction 
ended  the  first  workers'  meeting. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  at  three,  the  first  special  meeting  for 
women  was  held.  There  were,  at  the  lowest  computation,  about 
17,000  women  present;  and  the  power  of  the  Spirit  was  clearly 
there :  tears  and  sobs  md  repressed  cries,  anxious  faces,  low, 
earnest  words  anl  entreaties  for  mercy  were  all  around,  as  the 
discourse  proceeded  from  point  to  point.     God  was  the  preacher 


MIGHT.  ,DON    IS    BLESSED.  X9I 

of  this  sermon,  said  Mr.  Moody  ;  and  though  the  first  audience 
was  small,  the  sermon  has  come  rolling  down  the  ages,  and  many, 
I  hope,  are  asking  themselves  this  question  now.  I  am  speaking 
to  professors,  to  backsliders,  and  to  those  who  never  made  pro- 
fession, but  all  equally  lost.  Then  all  sang  the  hymn,  "  Lord,  I 
hear  of  showers  of  blessing,"  and  the  meeting  closed  to  allow 
inquirers  to  gather.  Such  a  number  accepted  the  invitation 
that  the  large  inquiry-room  could  not  contain  them,  and  many 
were  spoken  to  in  the  bitter  cold  without  the  room. 

The  evening  service  was  simply  a  repetition  of  the  afternoon, 
but  for  men  only,  instead  of  women.  Thousands  of  women, 
nevertheless,  accompanied  their  male  friends  in  hope  of  admis- 
sion, but  were  disappointed  —  they  could  not  be  admitted. 
Nevertheless,  the  building  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and 
the  doors  were  closed  nearly  an  hour  before  the  service  com- 
menced. The  would-be  infidel  orator  of  London  is  in  the  habit 
of  saying  that  "  Religion  is  an  affair  of  priests  and  women." 
Never  again  will  he  be  able  to  repeat  that  taunt,  after  the  meeting 
on  Sunday  evening  last,  when  nearly  15,000  men  of  London  were  held 
breathless  by  the  simple  preaching  and  singing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
Before  the  address  was  delivered,  Mr.  Sankey  sang  "Jesus  of 
Nazareth  passeth  by  ";  himself  singing  the  verses,  and  the  vast 
multitude  joining  in  singing  the  last  line  in  each  verse,  thus  pro- 
ducing the  effect  of  one  of  the  mightiest  choruses  ever  sung  on 
earth.  After  the  address  the  inquiry-room  was  opened,  while 
the  meeting  in  the  hall  continued  with  praise  and  prayer. 

So  great  had  been  the  effect  produced,  so  large  was  the  number 
of  inquirers  who  were  not  "priests"  or  "women,"  that  there 
were  not  enough  workers  present  to  deal  with  them.  Nor  can 
this  be  wondered  at.  Christians  had  been  entreated  and 
enjoined  to  stay  away,  that  the  unconverted  might  have  all  the 
room  ;  and  this  request  was  too  literally  obeyed. 

St.  Mary's  Hall  is  a  large  concert-room,  with  chairs  on  the 
floor  fronting  the  platform,  and  a  deep  gallery  round  the  sides 
and  end  of  the  hall.  Mr.  Moody  divided  the  inquirers,  leaving 
the  women  on  the  basement,  and  serding  tlic  men  into  the  gal- 


19.2  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT   BRITAIN. 

lery,  and  directed  the  workers  to  divide  in  the  same  way.  All 
round  the  gallery  were  men  in  twos  and  threes,  to  the  number  of 
two  or  three  hundred — each  couple  or  three  separated  from  their 
neighbors,  and  earnestly  engaged  in  their  own  work,  without  tak- 
ing any  notice  of  those  near  and  around.  Here  was  a  couple 
discussing  a  difficulty  in  the  way.  There  another  couple  earnestly 
reading  passages  of  God's  Word.  Next  was  one  pleading  ear- 
nestly with  another.  Next  one  whose  work  was  done,  as  the  close, 
loving  hand-clasp  showed.  Many  were  striving  together  in  prayer, 
two  by  two.  Here  a  worker  earnestly  asking  for  the  light  to  come. 
There  another  pressing  the  inquirer  to  pray  for  himself,  and 
others  praying  earnestly  together.  The  writer  had  the  pleasure 
of  speaking  with  three  in  succession.  The  first  was  a  young  man 
who  had  made  long,  wearying  endeavor  to  work  out  salvation  ;  he 
had  been  trying  hard  to  come  to  Jesus,  but  neither  work  nor  trial 
had  brought  the  assurance  of  faith.  To  one  so  much  in  earnest 
it  was  most  pleasant  to  show  salvation  as  the  gift  of  God,  and  a 
little  patience  was  richly  rewarded  by  the  dawning  of  the  light. 
Then  said  he,  "  T see  it  7iow  ;  please  to  leave  nie  alone  with  God  /^^ 
Most  reverently  and  willingly  this  was  done,  and  the  second  was 
spoken  to  ;  he  also  promised  to  accept  the  gift,  and  left  to  kneel 
before  the  Lord  in  seeking,  as  he  w^as  compelled  to  go.  The 
third  had  long  had  a  form  of  godliness,  but  neither  its  power  nor 
hope — he  was  just  a  sleeping  nominal  church-member,  who  did 
not  wish  to  be  disturbed.  He  had  wandered  into  the  inquiry- 
room,  thinking  it  was  public,  and  he  should  hear  an  address. 
Unable  to  deal  satisfactorily  with  him,  the  attention  of  another 
brother  was  called  to  him,  and  we  passed  on  round  the  gallery. 
On  returning,  this  one  was  praying  earnestly,  the  second  was  gone, 
and  the  face  of  the  first  showed  better  than  any  words  that  he  had 
lost  his  burden.  Passing  below  to  leave,  a  lady  who  was  talking 
to  three  working-girls  claimed  help,  as  help  had  been  claimed  in  the 
case  above.  We  held  conversation,  and  speedily  all  three  declared 
themselves  on  the  Lord's  side;  and  the  bright,  earnest  young 
faces  glowed  with  the  thought  of  the  gift  received,  and  thd  "  cove- 
nant unto  death  "  with  Jesus.     As  we  saw,  so  we  heard  of  many 


MIGHTY   LONDON    rS    DLESSED.  1 93 

to  whom  light  and  peace  came  ;  nor  was  it  the  least  impressive 
to  mark  how  willingly  help  was  given  and  received,  how  entirely 
absent  were  evidences  of  self  and  self-seeking.  Conversions  all 
aiound,  an  atmosphere  of  prayer  and  the  Word  of  God,  the  sub- 
dued hum  of  conversation  with  each  other,  and  converse  with  the 
Father  through  the  Son,  gave  a  sense  of  "  nearness  of  access,"  of 
personal  presence,  of  a  very  present  and  loving  help,  that  was  as 
&we(  t  as  it  was  solemn.  Verily  it  "  was  good  to  be  there  ! '"  It 
was  just  eleven  o'clock  when,  after  three  hours  of  delightful  ser- 
vice, "  the  labor  was  done,  and  the  laborers  gone  home." 

The  Christian  World  thus  summarizes  the  first  month's 
work: 

To-day  the  American  evangelists,  whose  names  are  on  every 
lip,  enter  upon  the  second  month  of  their  London  campaign. 
They  have  all  but  completed  the  series  of  meetings  at  the  Agri- 
cultural Hall,  in  Islington,  designed  more  especially  for  the  benefit 
of  the  people  dwelling  in  the  great  northern  region  of  the  metrop- 
olis ;  and  now  they  are  about  to  enter  on  the  daily  occupation  of 
a  building  specially  erected  for  their  accommodation  at  the  East 
End.  From  week  to  week  we  have  furnished  our  readers  with 
full  reports  of  the  proceedings.  In  this  way  the  public  have  been 
enabled  to  obtain  a  comprehensive,  and  we  believe  accurate,  view 
of  a  series  of  meetings  that  certainly  stand  without  a  parallel  in 
the  religious  annals  of  England.  We  may  not  be  able  to  say,  with 
a  respected  contemporary,  that  Mr.  Moody  is  the  modern  Wycliffe 
— a  name  we  should  rather  assign,  if  we  used  it  at  all,  to  a  great 
English  preacher  who  has  been  proclaiming  the  Gospel  to  multi- 
tudes in  London  every  week  for  more  than  twenty-one  years. 
Neither  are  we  prepared  to  coincide  with  the  magnanimous  asser- 
tion of  a  Wesleyan  Methodist  journal,  that  this  movement  puts 
the  revival  which  was  wrought  by  Whitfield  and  Wesley  into  the 
shade,  in  respect,  at  least,  to  the  numbers  brought  under  the 
sound  of  the  Gospel.  These  are  statements,  as  it  seems  to  us, 
which  would  require  to  be  greatly  qualified  before  they  could  be 
accepted  by  thoughtful  men.  Yet,  without  going  the  length  of 
our  too  exuberant  friends,  we  can  testify  that  the  success  of  the 
9 


194  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

gatherings  over  which  Mr.  Moody  presides  has  been  simply  mar- 
velous, and  in  its  way  quite  unexampled,  either  within  the  mem- 
ory of  living  men,  or  in  all  that  has  been  recorded  by  the  pen  of 
the  English  historian  of  the  Christian  Church.  Whatever  may  be 
the  view  he  takes  of  the  work,  as  to  its  true  spiritual  significance 
and  value,  every  candid  onlooker  must  acknowledge  that  the 
present  is  a  phenomenon  which  cannot  be  too  carefully  scanned, 
or  too  fully  described  by  the  contemporary  journalist.  It  will 
unquestionably  claim  for  itself  a  chapter  of  no  inconsiderable 
magnitude  in  the  book  that  deals  with  the  religious  history  of 
England  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Some 
little  service  to  the  future,  as  well  as  to  the  present-day  reader, 
.may,  therefore,  be  rendered  by  an  attempt  to  gather  up  the  salient 
points  in  the  story  of  the  first  month  spent  by  Messrs.  Moody 
and  Sankey  in  London. 

And  first  of  all  we  have  to  note  the  sustained,  and  it  would 
even  seem  growing,  interest  which  the  public  take  in  the  meet- 
ings. Every  day  at  noon  Exeter  Hall  has  been  well  filled ;  often 
it  has  been  crowded,  and  there  is  no  symptom  of  any  falling  off 
in  the  attendance,  while  it  may  be  confidently  expected  that  when 
the  prayer-meeting  is  transferred,  as  it  will  be  on  Monday  next, 
to  Her  Majesty's  Opera  House,  tlie  audience  will  be  as  great  as 
that  building  is  able  to  contain.  That  the  interest  in  the  primary 
purpose  of  the  noon-gathering  has  not  declined  is  made  manifest 
by  many  pleasing  tokens.  Not  the  least  eloquent  of  these  was 
the  statement  made  by  Mr.  Moody  on  Wednesday  last,  that  the 
requests  for  prayer  received  that  morning  numbered  no  fewer 
than  1 80.  The  reports  of  spiritual  work  achieved  in  connection 
with  the  movement,  not  only  in  London,  but  also  in  the  provinces, 
have  been  multiplying  daily;  and  these  form  a  feature  of  the 
proceedings  at  Exeter  Hall  which  does  much  to  keep  alive  the 
interest  and  to  intensify  the  fervor  of  the  assembly.  Then  there 
has  been  the  appearance  of  new  speakers  from  day  to  day — wit- 
nesses to  the  reality  of  the  revival  in  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  pro- 
vincial towns  of  England.  When  the  mccLing  is  thrown  open  to 
volunteers,  the   result  has  not  always  been  edifying;   but  T!^r. 


MIGHTY    LONDON    IS    BLESSED.  1 95 

Moody,  as  a  shrewd  and  ready-witted  president,  keeps  the  most 
of  the  time  well  occupied  with  a  swift  and  flowing  succession  of 
song,  prayer,  and  exhortation,  so  that  the  hour  seems  to  all  pres- 
ent to  be  only  too  short,  and  is  obviously  most  refreshing  to  their 
spirits.  Mr.  Moody  is,  perhaps,  seen  at  his  best  at  Exeter  Hall. 
Some  of  his  short  addresses  there  have  been  gems  of  pithy  expo- 
sition ;  and  his  occasional  quaint  bits  of  self-defence,  and  frequent 
touches  of  mingled  humor  and  pathos,  have  been  remarkably 
effective.  People  from  the  country  have  formed  a  distinctly  per- 
ceptible element  in  the  congregation  ;  and  we  cannot  doubt  that 
these,  along  with  the  city  brethren,  have  derived  useful  hints  from 
Mr.  Moody's  method  for  the  conduct  of  prayer-meetings  in  their 
own  places  of  worship.  In  this  way,  we  think  it  likely  that  a 
great  deal  of  good  may  be  done. 

The  three  afternoon  meetings  held  at  Sanger's  (formerly  Ast- 
ley's)  Amphitheatre  were  among  the  most  successful  of  all  the 
gatherings,  and  are  said  to  have  been  the  most  fruitful  in  spiritual 
results.  The  place  could  not  hold  all  the  people  who  flocked  to 
them;  and  a  proportionately  larger  number  of  the  "lapsed 
masses"  were  to  be  seen  in  these  South-side  gatherings  than  in 
the  assemblies  at  the  Agricultural  Hall.  The  two  afternoon 
Bible-readings— the  first  held  in  the  Conference  Hall  at  Mildmay 
Park,  and  the  second  at  Exeter,  and  to  both  of  which  admission 
was  procured  only  by  ticket — were  crammed,  and  they  seemed  to 
be  greatly  enjoyed. 

As  for  the  great  meetings,  those  held  every  night  (with  the 
exception  of  Saturday)  arthe  Agricultural  Hall,  and  thrice  on 
Sunday  in  the  same  enormous  edifice,  they  have  continued  to 
attract  an  average  attendance  of  at  least  eleven  or  twelve  thou- 
sand down  to  the  ver)-  last.  On  the  two  nights  when  the  address 
was  not  given  by  Mr.  Moody  there  was  a  great  falling  off"  in  the 
congregation.  On  Good  Friday  the  Times  "felt  bound"  to 
express  its  "strong  conviction  that  the  interest  of  the  meetings 
was  rapidly  falling  off; "  but  the  facts  do  not  sustain  this  view. 
The  largest  congregations  have  assembled  within  the  last  ten 
days ;  and  these  have  included  all  ranks  and  classes  of  society. 


Hj6  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Royalty  itself,  in  the  person  of  her  Royal  Highness  the  Duchess 
of  Teck,  has  expressed  its  intention  to  come  since  the  leading 
journal  proclaimed  the  turning  of  the  tide.  On  one  evening 
there  were  at  least  sixty  clergymen  of  the  Establishment  present, 
with  Dean  Stanley  occupying  a  conspicuous  seat  on  the  platform  ; 
and  on  the  night  of  Good  Friday  the  evangelical  Earl  of  Shaftes- 
bury sat  on  the  same  chair  which  a  few  evenings  before  had  been 
occupied  by  the  Broad  Church  Dean.  Lord  Shaftesbur)^,  at  the 
close  of  the  service,  paid  a  visit,  along  with  his  daughters,  to  the 
inquiry-room.  In  respect  to  the  numbers  of  the  Agricultural 
Hall  congregation,  the  floor  of  the  building  is  capable  of  seating 
9,000  persons  ;  the  raised  platform  for  the  choir  and  ministers, 
250 ;  the  eastern  side  gallery,  900  ;  the  western  side  gallery, 
1,000;  the  upper  raised  gallery  in  front  of  the  platform,  1,350; 
the  balcony  in  front,  850;  and  the  upper  western  balcony,  350. 
Even  on  moderate  computation,  it  would  seem  that  about  350,000 
must  have  been  the  total  of  the  numbers  present  at  the  Agricul- 
tural Hall  services  during  the  month ;  though  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  very  many  persons  were  frequent,  and  not  a  few 
constant,  attenders.  It  would  probably  be  a  liberal  allowance  if 
we  were  to  say  that  200,000  separate  individuals  were  present. 
The  arrangements  made  by  the  committee  for  the  comfort  of  the 
congregation  and  the  preservation  of  order  have,  from  first  to 
last,  been  admirable. 

With  respect  to  the  inquiry-rooms,  they  have  been  largely 
attended  every  night  by  Christian  friends,  clerical  and  lay ;  and 
the  penitents  pressing  in  for  spiritual  advice  have,  on  many  occa- 
sions, numb(;red  several  hundreds.  But  there  has  been  no  more 
excitement  there  than  in  the  public  service  ;  indeed,  the  proceed- 
ings have  been  more  subdued,  and  a  quiet,  solemn  earnestness 
has  characterized  all  that  has  been  done  in  connection  with  this 
part  of  the  work.  Several  gentlemen  taking  part  in  it  have  tes- 
tified to  the  good  accomplished ;  and  Mr.  Sankey  in  particular, 
who  is  active  in  the  inquiry-room,  describes  the  v*'o:k  of  which  he 
was  witness  on  Sunday  week,  and  on  every  succeeding  night,  as 
being  in  ihe  highest  degree  encouraging.     Many  Christian  work- 


MIGHTY   LONDON    IS    BLESSED.  I97 

ers,  though  not  so  many  as  Mr.  Moody  desires  to  see,  have  scat- 
tered themselves  among  the  great  audience  at  the  ordinary  ser- 
vices,  for  the  purpose  of  speaking  a  word  to  their  unconverted 
neighbors ;  and  a  case  has  been  mentioned  in  which  the  young 
ladies  of  a  certain  seminary  have,  in  this  way,  been  instrumental 
in  leading  twenty  individuals  to  the  Saviour.  With  this  we  may 
bracket  the  case  of  a  lady  who  took  her  ten  servants  to  one  of  the 
services,  and  who  reports  that  seven  of  these  have  been,  in  coi> 
sequence,  converted  to  God.  Mr.  Moody  has  detailed  instances 
of  persons  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  God  in  the  inquiry-room 
one  night,  and  appearing  on  the  next  with  friends  whom  they 
desired  to  see  sharing  the  peace  which  they  had  secured.  Since 
the  second  Sunday  a  young  men's  meeting  has  been  held  every 
night  at  St.  Mary's  Hall,  immediately  after  the  public  service; 
and  latterly  this  feature  has  come  more  conspicuously  into  view, 
and  been  more  pressingly  urged  upon  the  attention  of  the  class 
referred  to  by  Mr.  Moody,  who  is  ambitious  of  securing  a  band 
of  at  least  a  thousand  to  assist  him  in  his  work. 

The  meetings  in  the  East  End  of  London  were  held  in  the  Bow- 
road  Hall  and  a  tent  pitched  close  by.  Here  the  rich  and  poor 
congregated,  and  God  graciously  poured  out  His  Spirit.  In  the 
West  End  the  Royal  Opera  House,  in  the  Haymarket,  was  ob- 
tained. In  South  London  Camberwell  Hall  was  specially  pro- 
vided for  the  immense  multitudes  sure  to  gather. 

During  the  greater  part  of  April  services  had  been  conducted 
daily  in  each  of  the  four  divisions  of  the  metropolis.  Messrs. 
Moody  and  Sankey  have  divided  their  labors  almost  equally  be- 
tween the  East  and  the  West  Ends — officiating  at  Her  Majesty's 
Opera  House,  in  the  Haymarket,  at  the  daily  noon  prayer-meet- 
ing, and  also  at  an  afternoon  Bible-reading,  while  in  the  evening 
they  have  generally  been  present  at  the  service  in  the  Bow-road  Hall. 
On  two  evenings  of  each  week  they  have  returned  to  the  Agricul- 
tural Hall  in  Islington.  The  first  week  after  their  departure 
from  that  hall  the  services  there  were  conducted  by  Rev.  William 
Taylor  of  California  ;  but  the  attendance  instantly  dropped  from 
12,000  to  2,000,  and  sank  to  as  low  as  i,ooo  before  the  week  was 


ig8  MOODY  AND  SANKLY  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

done.  In  the  second  week  Mr.  Taylor  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  W.  H.  M.  Aitken  (Episcopalian)  of  Liverpool,  who  secured 
much  larger  congregations,  there  being  occasionally  as  many  as 
5,000  and  6, coo  present  to  hear  him  ;  and  at  the  Victoria  Thea- 
tre, on  the  South  side,  Mr.  Taylor  held  daily  meetings,  where  his 
labors  would  appear  to  be  better  appreciated  than  they  were  at 
Islington.  The  prayer-meeting  at  the  Opera  House  has  not  been 
so  well  attended,  on  the  whole,  as  that  at  Exeter  Hall ;  but  the 
Bible-readings  have  attracted  great  congregations,  these  including 
many  members  of  fashionable  society,  led  by  Her  Royal  High- 
ness the  Princess  of  Wales,  who  was  present  on  Thursday,  April 
15.  In  an  article  on  "The  American  Revivalists  in  England," 
the  New  York  Independent  says  :  '*  We  presume  that  the  aristoc- 
racy and  the  literati  will  scarce  hear  of  the  movement  that  is 
about  them.  It  is  an  after-generation  that  builds  the  monuments 
of  the  prophets.  Bunyan  got  no  words  of  honor  from  the  Duke 
of  Bedford,  whose  descendant  has  lately  set  up  his  statue."  Sev- 
eral months  before  these  words  were  written,  Mr.  Moody  had 
sojourned  as  a  guest  within  the  walls  of  Dunrobin  Castle,  the 
northern  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  ;  and  weeks  before,  he 
had  dined  with  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  England  at  Bournemouth. 
At  his  first  meeting  in  the  Agricultural  Hall  he  was  assisted  by 
a  peer  of  the  realm,  and  other  noblemG^n  took  part  in  subsequent 
gatherings,  while  Lord  Cairns,  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  and  many 
other  members  of  the  aristocracy,  formed  part  of  his  audience. 
The  favor  with  which  his  labors  are  regarded  by  a  large  section 
of  the  nobility  has  been  still  more  conspicuously  displayed  since 
the  opening  of  the  services  in  the  Haymarket,  and  especially 
since  the  visit  paid  by  the  Princess  of  Wales.  Standing  some- 
what in  the  same  relation  to  Mr.  Moody  that  the  Countess  of 
Huntingdon  did  to  Whitefield,  her  Grace  the  Duchess  of  Suther- 
land has  been  well-nigh  a  daily  attender,  accompanied  sometimes 
by  her  daughter  and  Lady  Constance  Leveson-Gower.  Twice 
last  week  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  St.  Albans  were  seen  in  the 
royal  box  ;  the  Prince  Teck  has  also  been  present,  and  so  have 
tlie  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  the  Countess  of  Gains- 


MIGHTY    LONDON    IS    BLESSED. 


199 


borough,  Lady  Dudley,  Lord  and  Lady  Rendlcsham  (the  latter  a 
daughter  of  the  late  popular  Earl  of  Eglington),  and  many  more 
of  the  "  upper  ten  thousand."  To  crown  all,  it  is  alleged,  not 
only  that  Lord  Dudley  interested  himself  in  securing  the  Opera 
House  for  the  American  evangelists,  but  that  his  lordship  was  en- 
couraged to  do  this  by  no  less  a  personage  than  the  Heir  Apparent 

The  following  is  given  as  the  number  of  meetings  and  aggre- 
gate attendance  during  the  four  months  that  Mr.  Moody  has  been 
in  London  : 

In  Camberwell,  sixty  meetings,  attended  by  480,000  people  ; 
in  Victoria,  forty-five  meetings,  attended  by  400,000 ;  in  the  Opera 
House,  sixty  meetings,  attended  by  330,000;  in  Bow,  sixty  meet- 
ings, attended  by  600,000 ;  and  in  Agricultural  Hall,  sixty  meet- 
ings, attended  by  720,000.  The  amount  of  money  expended  for 
buildings,  printing,  stewards,  etc.,  is  ;^  140,000.  Messrs.  Moody 
and  Sankey  have  declined  to  receive  any  compensation  from  the 
committee.  It  is  stated  that  a  prominent  business  man  has 
bought  the  Victoria  Theatre,  and  intends  to  fit  it  up  for  religious 
work. 

Inquirers  multiplied ;  young  men's  meetings  were  held  ;  thou- 
sands of  children  were  gathered.  A  great  array  of  workers  went 
out,  two  by  two,  to  visit  every  house  in  London  with  the  Gospel. 
Every  text  Mr.  Moody  quoted  was  an  arrow  from  God's  bow 
which  went  straight  to  the  heart ;  every  song  from  Mr.  Sankey 
won  some  soul ;  every  appeal  persuaded  some  heart  to  yield  to 
Christ ;  every  meeting  swelled  the  throng  of  converts.  The 
mighty  movement  swept  from  one  end  of  London  to  the  other. 

As  the  evangelists  left  one  quarter  of  the  city  for  another,  the 
meetings  were  continued  in  the  localities  left,  until,  when  Mr. 
Moody,  during  the  last  month,  was  at  Camberwell  Green  Hall  in 
the  South,  Major  Cole  was  at  the  Victoria  Theatre  in  the  West, 
Henry  Varley  at  the  Bow-road  Hall  in  the  East,  while  Henry 
Drummond  was  holding  his  young  men's  meetings  with  great 
success.  Notwithstanding  all  these  great  meetings,  numbering 
often  many  thousands,  the  central  meetings  under  our  two 
brethren  mo^-ed  on  with  wonderful  power  and  success. 


too  MOODY    AND    SAN  KEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

As  the  last  week  drew  to  a  close,  the  interest  became  intense. 
On  the  last  night,  Mr.  Moody  became  very  earnest  and  urgent 
in  his  appeals  to  the  vast  and  intensely  interested  audience,  to 
accept  Christ.  "Just  let  me  pause  here,"  he  said.  "Ask  your- 
selves whether  you  ought  not  to  receive  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
now.^  Who  is  there  in  this  assembly  who  will  receive  the  gift 
of  God  and  be  saved  ?  "  After  a  brief  pause,  a  voice  came  from 
/he  left-hand  gallery,  somewhat  faintly,  "  I  will."  It  was  speed- 
ily followed  by  others  from  all  parts  of  the  house.  "Well,"  con- 
tinued Mr.  Moody,  "thank  God  for  that.  I  am  just  passing 
around  the  cup  of  salvation.  Who  else  will  take  it?"  "I  will," 
"I  will,"  "I  will,"  "I  will,"  came  resounding  on  every  hand. 
"  That's  right,  my  boy,"  replied  he,  speaking  to  a  little  fellow 
down  in  front  of  him,  whose  "  I  will  "  came  up  to  the  plarform 
with  the  rest.  "Will  the  Christians  keep  on  praying?  Men 
do  not  speak  out  like  this  unless  God  is  at  work.  Who  else  will 
accept  the  gift  of  God?"  Again  came  a  perfect  volume  of 
"I  will's."  "Would  it  not  be  a  glorious  thing  if  every  man 
here  would  take  it  to-night?  Is  there  another?"  "I  will." 
"Another?"  "I  will."  "How  many  are  to-night  willing  to 
stand  up  before  God  and  man,  and  say  by  that  act  that  they  v^iil 
join  us  in  our  journey  to  heaven?  You  that  are  willing  to  take 
Christ  now,  would  you  just  rise  ?"  A  mighty  army  of  men  rose 
to  their  feet  at  once.  "Why  not  three  thousand?  The  God  of 
Pentecost  still  lives ! "  Numbers  more  stood  up,  until  one  could 
scarce  distinguish  between  those  sitting  and  those  standing. 
Mr.  Moody  prayed  and  said,  "and  now  we  will  sing  'Safe  in  the 
arms  of  Jesus.' "  Multitudes  flocked  into  the  inquiry-room, 
where  there  was  a  scene  of  ingathering  never  to  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  were  present.  A  fitting  close  to  the  labors  of  our 
brethren  in  Great  Britain.  Their  work  had  continued  without 
interruption  through  two  years  and  three  weeks.  They  had  held 
meetings  in  perhaps  a  hundred  cities  and  villages.  They  had 
personally  attended  between  two  and  three  thousand  services. 

Mr.  Roberts,  of  New  York,  writing  from  London,  says:  "The 
places  of  most  interest  for  over  two  months  are  those  where  the 


MIGHTY    LONDON    IS    BLESSED.  201 

meetings  of  Moody  and  Sankey,  the  American  evangelists,  are 
held.  I  had  heard  of  them  before  leaving  home,  but  I  was  not 
prepared  for  what  I  heard  and  saw  at  these  vast  assemblages, 
which  I  attended  several  days  twice,  and  sometimes  thrice  a  day. 
I  was  present  at  Agricultural  Hall,  when  there  were  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  thousand  persons  present.  Last  Sunday  evening  the 
room  was  crammed  full,  and  I  had  to  stand  an  hour  and  a  half. 
Though  there  were  so  many  inside,  thousands  went  away.  The 
Lord  Chancellor  (Cairns),  with  his  wife,  was  present.  They  are 
both,  I  was  told,  devoutly  pious,  attending  several  of  the  meet- 
ings with  a  number  of  the  nobility  and  eminent  men,  including 
Gladstone. 

"  It  is  a  grand  sight  to  see  such  a  vast  audience  ;  and  when 
they  unite  in  singing,  it  is  thrilling  beyond  anything  I  have  ever 
heard. 

" The  text  was,  '  Come  thou  and  all  thy  house  into  the  ark' 
(Genesis  vii.).  He  handled  it  remarkably  well,  and  I  was  told 
the  discourse  was  more  effective  than  in  the  morning,  which  was 
based  on  the  story  of  Naaman  (2  Kings  v.). 

"  He  usually  preached  from  thirty  to  forty-five  minutes,  in  a 
very  clear  voice,  enunciating  distinctly,  presenting  the  truth  very 
plainly,  earnestly,  and  pungently,  appealing  to  the  heart  and  con- 
science, without  any  effort  to  excite  animal  feeling;  and  at  all 
these  meetings  there  was  an  entire  absence  of  fiinaticism.  The 
people  are  absorbed  by  what  is  said,  and  there  is  nothing  noisy  or 
demonstrative,  though  nearly  all  join  in  the  singing  of  hymns  full 
of  Gospel  truth,  to  simple  melodious  airs. 

"  Sankey  leads  the  singing  usually,  and  generally  sings  a  solo 
at  every  service,  'Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  passing  by,'  or  the  *  Ninety 
rind  nine,'  based  on  the  parable  of  the  lost  sheep.  His  voice  is 
so  powerful  as  to  be  heard  easily  by  such  large  assemblages,  for 
he  enunciates  every  word  in  a  remarkably  sweet  voice. 

"  The  music  is,  no  doubt,  a  great  help  to  the  preaching,  the 
main  element  of  which  is  Christ,  as  set  forth  in  the  Bible  sent 
home  to  ihe  souls  of  rich  and  poor,  high  and  low,  the  educated 
and  the  ignorant,  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  for,  in  my  opinion,  there 


202  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

is  no  Other  way  of  accounting  for  the  assembling  of  such  vast 
multitudes  three  or  four  times  daily  for  weeks  and  months. 

'While  I  was  in  London,  Moody  held  a  noon  prayer-meeting 
at  the  Queen's  Opera  House,  Haymarket,  at  which,  I  think, 
fifteen  hundred  attended — preaching  there  at  three  and  seven 
r.  M.,  when  the  house  was  filled  from  top  to  bottom.  At  eight 
and  a  half  he  preached  at  East  London  in  a  large  hall,  accom- 
modating some  twelve  thousand.  How  he  endures  such  great 
and  constant  mental  and  physical  labors  I  cannot  understand. 

"  Thus,  substantially,  he  has  worked  for  over  two  months  in 
London,  and  in  about  like  manner  for  nearly  two  years  in  various 
places  in  Great  Britain.  He  appears  very  robust — I  think  larger 
around  the  chest  than  any  man  I  ever  saw,  and  every  time  I 
heard  him,  what  he  said  was  fresh. 

"At  the  large  meetings  hundreds  stood  up  for  prayers,  and 
entered  the  inquiry-rooms,  where  Christians  conversed  with 
them. 

"  This  was  a  large  hall,  nearly  filled  with  groups  of  inquirers, 
two  to  four  attending  to  the  instruction  of  men  and  women,  each 
of  their  own  sex ;  and  while  some  were  conversing,  other  groups 
were  kneeling  and  praying  in  a  low  tone.  Thousands  remained 
in  the  audience-room  praying  and  singing,  where  every  Chris- 
tian was  requested,  in  their  places,  to  speak  to  his  or  her  neigh- 
bor suitable  words,  if  they  had  no  hope  in  Christ.  I  spoke  to 
two  young  persons  near  me,  and  found  they  were  both  indulging 
hope. 

"  It  reminded  me  of  the  efforts  of  this  kind  in  the  early  days  of 
Brainerd  Church. 

"Sometimes  the  scenes  of  1 831  were  brought  vividly  before 
me,  and  I  have  a  conviction  that  the  means  used  by  Moody  and 
Sankcy,  and  the  preaching,  are  very  like  those  so  much  blessed 
in  our  country  for  eight  or  ten  years  subsequent  to  1825,  of  which 
probably  Mr.  Ncttleton  was  the  most  prominent  author.  The 
same  pungent,  direct  manner  of  presenting  truth,  enforced  by 
apposite  illustrations,  which  all  could  understand,  accompanied 
by  singing  of  hymns  containing  fundamental  truths,  in  melodious 


MIGHTY    LONDON    IS    BLESSED.  203 

and  simple  tunes,  nearly  the  whole  congregation  joining.  No 
doubt  you  will  recall  the  Village  Hymn  Book  compiled  by  Mr. 
Nettlcton. 

"I  cannot  but  hope  this  is  the  beginning  of  a  new  era,  showing 
our  ministers  that,  as  Spurgeon  said  the  other  day  at  Exeter  Hall 
(referring  to  these  meetings),  he  had  no  fear  of  them,  for  the 
^  Bible  was  kept  in  the  front' 

"  I  do  not  undervalue  learning,  but  it  must  be  kept  secondary 
to  the  Bible,  the  Sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  almost  the  only 
weapon  Moody  uses  with  so  much  effect. 

"But  I  must  close,  though  I  have  not  said  half  I  might  on  this 
subject." 

It  must  be  conceded  that  this  was  the  most  wonderful  series  of 
revival  meetings  ever  held  in  the  world.  In  the  union  of  all 
God's  people  ;  in  the  mighty  but  perfectly  quiet  workings  of 
God's  Spirit ;  in  the  honor  put  upon  God's  simple  word ;  in  the 
dependence  put  upon  prayer,  and  the  simplest  agencies ;  in  the 
earnestness  with  which  Christians  labored,  and  the  liberality 
with  which  they  gave  their  money;  in  the  multitudes  which 
everywhere  flocked  to  the  services ;  in  the  wide  extent  of  the 
work,  in  the  readiness  with  which  men  received  the  Gospel ;  in 
the  number  of  conversions ;  in  eveiy  aspect  of  it,  the  movement 
is  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  Christianity.  It  seems  to 
betoken  a  world-wide  revival  of  religion. 

Sunday,  July  11. — Last  Day. — Ho^v  shall  we  write  of  it? 
Fresh  from  the  meeting  in  the  evening,  we  feel  how  inadequate 
are  human  words  to  portray  that  most  marvelous  close  of  a  no 
less  marvelous  season  of  revival  throughout  our  land. 

The  doors  for  the  morning  service  were  opened  at  half-past 
six,  and  by  seven  o'clock  the  hall  was  comfortably  full.  An  hour 
yet  intervened  before  the  commencement  of  the  service,  and  the 
time  was  profitably  and  pleasantly  occupied  with  a  service  of  song 
from  the  familiar  book.  About  half-past  seven  it  was  announced 
that  there  were  thousands  outside,  some  of  them  from  a  great 
distance,  and  if  the  audience  would  kindly  sit  more  closely,  a  few 
hundreds  more  might  be  got  in.    The  request  was  good-naturedly 


204  MOODY   AND    SANKEV    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

complied  with  at  once,  and  room  made  for  a  few  more.  For  the 
great  numbers  Avho  were  unable  to  get  admission,  an  overflow- 
meeting  was  held  in  the  Presbyterian  church  close  by,  and  was 
addressed  by  Dr.  A.  Bonar,  of  Glasgow. 

Shortly  before  eight  o'clock  Mr.  Sankey  appeared,  and  delighted 
the  audience  with  a  few  solos.  Before  singing  "  I  am  praying  for 
you,"  he  said  he  hoped  in  the  days  to  come  they  would  not  for- 
get to  pray  for  Mr.  Moody  and  himself  when  they  were  gone. 

In  consequence  of  the  crowd  at  the  gates,  Mr.  Moody  could 
not  gain  an  entrance,  and  had  to  be  conveyed  through  a  private 
house  opening  from  the  back  upon  the  site  of  the  building.  This 
delayed  the  opening  of  the  service  till  about  ten  minutes  past 
eight  o'clock — a  thing  altogether  unusual  at  these  gatherings,  as 
one  of  the  most  noticeable  features  of  them  has  been  the  punctu- 
ality observed  by  our  brethren. 

Mr.  Sankey  having  sung  "  Only  an  Armor-bearer,"  the  audi- 
ence swelling  out  in  the  chorus,  very  earnest  prayer  was  offered, 
making  special  reference  to  the  occasion. 

Mr.  Moody  then  delivered  his  well-known  address  on  "  Daniel," 
beginning  with  the  secret  of  his  wonderful  success,  which  he  at- 
tributed to  his  being  able  to  say  "  No  "  at  the  right  moment.  He 
sketched  the  eventful  career  of  this  man,  "beloved  of  God," 
through  the  reigns  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  Belshazzar,  and  Darius, 
showing  how  he  was  delivered  from  all  the  many  snares  laid  for 
him  by  his  enemies,  because  he  was  faithful  to  God  and  His  com- 
mandments. The  history  of  Daniel  in  the  telling  of  it  rouses  Mr. 
Moody's  enthusiasm,  which  he  succeeds  in  a  large  degree  in  im- 
parting to  the  audience,  and  many  thousands  of  hearts  were 
stirred  by  this  closing  address  to  Christian  workers.  Before  part- 
ing, we  sang  with  Mr.  Sankey  "  Dare  to  be  a  Daniel." 

The  afternoon  service  for  women  was  a  deeply  interesting  one, 
both  in  itself  and  from  the  fact  of  its  being  the  last  of  them.  The 
hall  was  crammed  in  every  corner.  'J'he  opening  hymn  was 
"Yet  there  is  room,"  very  appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

All  through  his  mission  in  Great  Britain,  Mr.  Moody  has 
striven  to  make  the  Gospel  so  plain  as  to  be  understood  by  the 


MIGHTY    LONDON    IS    BLESSED.  205 

meanest  comprehension.  He  has  avoided  collateral  issues  and 
eschewed  tlieological  discussions,  and  held  to  the  proclamation 
of  the  good  news  of  salv  ition  through  faith  in  a  crucified  and  risen 
Saviour.  One  of  his  flivorite  texts  has  been  the  question  of  the 
jailer,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  "  and  this  he  chose  for  his 
final  gospel  addresses  to  London  audiences.  Many  people,  he 
said,  still  disbelieved  in  sudden  conversion,  and  he  proceeded  ^o 
draw  from  the  treasury  of  Holy  Scripture  numerous  illustrations 
to  show  that  the  new  birth  is,  of  necessity,  an  instantaneous  act, 
and  not  a  gradual  change.  He  quoted  the  ark,  the  salvation  of 
Lot  from  Sodom,  the  preservation  of  the  children  of  Israel  in 
Egypt  by  sprinkling  the  blood  on  their  doors,  the  cities  of  refuge, 
and  others,  as  well  as  illustrations  from  history  and  from  daily 
life.  At  the  close  he  spoke  with  much  emotion  of  how  he  had 
tried  in  all  possible  ways  to  allure  sinners  to  Christ,  and  en- 
treated those  present  not  to  go  out  of  the  building  without  receiv- 
ing Christ  as  their  Saviour.  They  might  never  hear  his  and  Mr, 
Sankey's  voice  again  on  earth,  but  he  hoped  there  would  not  be 
one  missing  at  the  last  great  meeting.  Many  rose  in  response  to 
his  pressing  appeal  at  the  close,  and  the  inquiry-rooms  were 
afterward  the  scene  of  much  earnest  conversation  and  prayer  with 
the  crowds  of  anxious  sisters.  The  evening  meeting  for  men  was 
almost  filled  before  the  last  of  the  inquirers  and  workers  had  left 
the  building. 

The  last  meeting  of  all  will,  we  think,  be  reckoned,  by  those 
who  have  attended  the  London  meetings  throughout,  the  best  of 
all.  It  was  as  closely  packed  with  men  as  could  be  ;  how  many 
were  left  outside  we  cannot  tell.  A  meeting  for  them  was  held 
in  the  Camberwell-green  Hall.  Mr.  Sankey  took  his  seat  at  the 
instrument  about  half  an  hour  before  the  time,  and  while  he  was 
singing  for  Jesus  to  the  eager  crowd  of  listeners,  Mr.  Moody  and 
a  few  friends  were  in  the  little  waiting-room  below,  supplicating 
God  for  a  Pentecostal  blessing  on  this  parting  service.  And  their 
prayer  was  answered  of  a  truth.  We  have  not  witnessed  such  a 
wondrous  scene  during  any  of  the  many  gatherings  these  last 
four  months  ;  the  only  approach  to  it  was  one  Sunday  after- 
noon at  a  women's  meeting  in  the  Opera  House. 


t06  MOODY  AND    SANKEY    IN   GREAT   BRITAIN. 

Several  of  Mr.  Moody's  American  friends  were  present  to  wit- 
ness the  crowning  service  of  this  mission,  before  described. 

At  the  farewell  meeting  at  London,  of  the  700  and  odd  ministers 
who  were  present  at  this  memorable  gathering,  there  were  188  be- 
longing to  the  Church  of  England,  154  Congregationalists,  85 
Baptists,  8 1  Wcsieyan  Methodists,  39  Presbyterians,  8  foreign  pas- 
tors, 8  United  Methodists,  7  Primitive  Methodists,  3  Plymouth 
Brethren,  2  Countess  of  Huntingdon's  Connection,  2  Society  of 
Friends,  3  Free  Church  of  England,  i  Bible  Christian,  and 
upward  of  20  not  known.  These  figures  we  take  from  the  official 
statement  supplied  at  the  meeting,  and  they  significantly  show 
the  catholic  and  unsectarian  character  of  Messrs.  Moody  and 
Sankey's  services,  as  well  as  the  universal  esteem  with  which  oui 
evangelist  brethren  are  regarded  by  all  sections  of  the  Church  ot 
Christ  in  this  country.  A  large  number  of  influential  laymen  and 
Christian  workers  were  present,  among  the  best  known  of  them 
being  Lord  Shaftesbury,  Lord  Cavan,  Mr.  Cowper-Temple,  M.  P., 
Mr.  Alderman  Mc Arthur,  M.  P.,  Mr.  Samuel  Morley,  M.  P.,  etc. 

We  only  give  those  of  the  addresses  containing  interesting  facts 
and  statistics  relating  to  the  movement. 

Rev.  R.  D.  Wilson,  of  Craven  Chapel,  said  a  new  spiritual 
glow  had  come  into  the  hearts  of  many  during  the  last  four  months. 
They  had  learned,  too,  that  their  cherished  traditions  had  no 
more  sanctity  or  authority  about  them  than  the  new  things,  which 
startled  some  of  them  at  first,  but  with  which  they  had  now  become 
most  blessedly  familiar.  It  was  too  soon  to  speak  of  the  results 
as  a  whole,  but  within  the  last  three  days  he  had  met  no  less  than 
twelve  or  thirteen  distinct  cases  of  conversion  in  consequence  of 
the  ministrations  of  the  evangelists.  He  read  the  following  ex- 
tract from  a  letter  he  had  received  :  "  I  feel  it  my  duty  rind  inex- 
pressible pleasure  to  tell  you  that  I  and  one  of  my  brothers  were 
converted  at  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  meetings  last  week.  Could  you 
know  my  inner  life  for  the  past  ten  years,  you  would  indeed  say 
I  have  been  plucked  like  a  brand  from  the  burning.  I  cannot 
cease  to  maivel  at  the  greatness  of  my  salvation."  The  mother 
of  that  young  lady,  said  the  speaker,  had  come  to  him  yesterday, 


MIGHTY    LONDON    IS    BLESSED.  207 

and  stated  that  for  twenty-five  years,  with  few  exceptions,  she 
had  regularly  attended  the  service  of  the  sanctuary,  but  thti  hai> 
piest  day  in  her  Christian  experience  was  the  previous  Sunday, 
when  she  sat  with  her  converted  daughter  on  her  right  hand  and 
a  converted  son  on  her  left.  As  the  speaker  told  this  affecting 
little  story,  we  felt  certain  that  the  tear  of  joy  gathered  in  many 
an  eye,  only  we  could  not  see  for  the  mist  that  came  across  our 
own.  He  went  on  to  say  that  we  had  never  known  what  it  was 
to  "  sing  the  Gospel  "  of  Jesus  Christ  till  our  two  brethren  came. 
We  could  now  understand  how  the  sweetest  tones  could  become 
the  highest  sort  of  Christian  eloquence,  in  declaring  to  men  the 
Way  of  Life.  He  would  so  far  disobey  the  rule  that  no  reference 
was  to  be  made  to  the  two  evangelists,  as  to  assure  them  that 
they  would  carry  home  to  their  American  country  the  warmest 
love  and  heartiest  esteem  of  the  ministers  and  Christian  people 
of  this  country.  At  this  remark  the  pent-up  feelings  of  the  audi- 
ence could  no  longer  be  restrained,  and  they  burst  out  into  loud 
and  prolonged  applause.  We  were  extremely  glad  that  the  nat- 
ural emotions  of  the  congregation  for  once  refused  to  be  smoth- 
ered by  that  false  and  frigid  idea  of  decorum  which  obtains  too 
much  in  our  religious  assemblies,  and  prevents  the  legitimate 
expression  of  the  deepest  feelings  of  the  heart.  But  this  is  a 
digression.  Mr.  Wilson  continued  :  "  We  shall  not  forget,  when 
the  Atlantic  lies  between  their  home  and  ours,  at  our  family  altar, 
at  the  place  of  secret  meeting  with  our  God,  in  our  prayer-meet- 
ings, and  in  our  Sabbath  assemblies,  to  pray  that  God's  richest 
blessing  may  rest  upon  them  there.  And  it  will  be  a  glad  day 
for  us  all,  if  ever  that  day  comes,  when  we  shall  hear  from  the 
other  side  of  the  Western  Main  the  intelligence  that  they  are 
coming  again.  Until  then  we  shall  continue  to  pray  that,  when 
Gud  sees  meet  that  they  should  come,  they  may  come  in  the  full 
ness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ." 

Rev.  Thomas  Richardson,  of  St.  Benet's,  Stepney,  said  the 
effect  of  the  meetings  in  the  East  End  had  been  to  make  his 
church  and  corgregation  "enlarge  the  place  of  their  tent,  and 
stretch  forth  the  curtains  of  their  habitation."     He  would  rather 


2oS  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN   GREAT    BRITAIN. 

wait  for  a  year  before  he  gave  his  testimony  as  to  results,  as  there 
were  many  reasons  why  they  should  not  now  begin  to  count. 
But  he  had  no  doubt  that  thousands  of  souls  would  be  recorded 
in  their  various  chapels  and  churches  all  over  London  by  next 
year.  His  district  visitors  had  sent  in  to  him  formal  returns, 
showing  that  of  i,oo8  families  in  his  parish,  672,  or  two  fiimilies 
out  of  every  three,  had  attended  the  services  at  Bow-road  Hall. 
Further,  he  had  two  direct  testimonies  that  the  attendances  at 
the  theatres  of  East  London  had  sensibly  diminished.  Some  of 
the  officials  of  these  theatres  had  given  up  the  profession,  and  he 
had  only  to-day  had  an  interview  with  one  who  was  starting  a 
different  course.  He  had  something  too  to  say  about  the  influ- 
ence of  the  movement  on  the  dock  laborers.  He  had  received 
testimony  from  several  of  the  large  docks  that  the  men  did  not 
swear  so  much  since  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  came ;  praise 
God  for  that.  Besides,  drinking  was  not  so  prevalent  among  the 
dockmen,  and  that  was  the  kind  of  work  that  the  world  believed 
in.  He  had  been  privileged  to  attend  every  service  in  Bow-road 
Hall,  and  he  would  thank  God  to  all  eternity  for  it.  He  had  seen 
the  power  of  sympathy — that  sympathy  which  brought  Christ 
down  to  die  for  sinners.  Sinners  had  felt  its  power,  so  they  had 
stood  up  and  declared  they  wanted  to  be  saved.  He  had  had  the 
privilege  of  conversing  personally  with  450  anxious  souls;  his 
wife  had  spoken  to  150,  and  his  curate  had  spoken  to  100.  There 
were  thus  700  souls  whose  names  and  addresses  they  knew,  and 
to  whom  they  had  written.  Formerly,  he  had  an  after-meeting 
once  a  month  ;  now  he  had  one  every  Sunday  evening,  and  not 
a  Sunday  passed  without  some  souls  being  gathered  in.  The 
direct  results  of  the  meetings  were  seen  in  his  church,  his  wife's 
Bible-class,  his  young  men's  meetings,  and  among  his  district 
visitors.  He  urged  the  general  adoption  of  the  after-meeting,  as 
Int'ing  the  key  to  the  success  of  the  services,  and  added  that  if  the 
Spirit  led  him  to  adopt  Mr.  Moody's  style  of  preaching  he  was 
going  to  do  it. 

Rev.  Robert  Taylor,  of  Norwood,  gave  some  intensely  interest- 
ing facts  respecting  what  had  transpired  in  the  inquiry  room  al 


MIGHTY    LONDON    IS    BLESSED.  209 

Camberwell-green  Hall.  He  had  to  do  what  Mr.  Moody  called 
"police  work"  there,  and  in  this  capacity  he  was  able  to  take  a 
general  view  of  the  inquirers  who,  night  after  night,  thronged  the 
rooms.  One  or  two  things  had  struck  him.  First,  the  large 
number  of  old  people  who  came  as  inquirers,  and  who  went  away 
as  very  young  Christians.  He  was  afraid  that,  in  their  anxiety 
to  shut  up  and  shut  in  the  young,  they  had  been  in  danger  of 
shutting  out  the  old.  They  had  fallen  into  the  unbelief  of  Nico- 
demus,  who  said,  "  How  can  a  man  be  born  when  he  is  old  ? " 
But  many  blessed  births  of  the  old  had  been  seen  in  the  inquiry- 
room  at  Camberwell.  He  was  also  struck  with  the  amazing  vari- 
ety of  opinion — religious  opinion  and  no  opinion — represented. 
One  evening  he  gave  up  his  seat  in  the  hall  to  a  distinguished 
literary  man,  who  lately  wrote  that  "  there  was  a  Power  above  us 
that,  at  least,  we  know  to  be  working  for  righteousness."  One 
evening,  in  the  inquiry-room,  he  met  a  young  woman,  and  asked 
if  she  was  anxious.  Yes,  to  know  if  there  was  a  God.  Did  she 
not  believe  it?  Well,  the  sum  of  her  belief  was  that  "there  was 
something  above  us."  He  could  tell  of  a  wife,  deserted  by  her 
husband,  who  had  been  in  such  utter  misery  and  agony  that  she 
had  twice  contemplated  going  to  London-bridge  to  commit  sui- 
cide. In  that  inquiry-room  she  was  brought  to  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  and  peace  with  God  through  the  preaching  and  singing. 
Afterward  she  prayed  so  beautifully  for  her  husband  that  the 
lady  who  conversed  with  her  was  deeply  touched  as  she  listened. 
She  did  not  pray  that  he  might  be  restored  to  her — now  she  did 
not  care  so  much  about  that — but  that  God  would  bring  him  to 
Himself,  and  that  they  might  be  reunited  in  heaven.  He  could 
tell  of  several  Roman  Catholics  brought  to  simple  faith  and  sweet 
peace  in  Jesus.  He  could  tell  of  a  man  who  for  twenty  minutes 
hid  his  face  from  the  lady  who  spoke  to  him,  so  deep  was  his  dis- 
tress and  shame.  He  afterward  told  her  how  he  was  standing  at 
St.  Giles's,  and  tossed  up  whether  he  should  go  to  the  theatre  or 
the  meeting.  It  was  "Heads  the  theatre,  tails  Moody  and  San- 
key.  '  It  was  tails.  He  w^ent  to  the  meedng,  was  led  to  go  into 
the  inquiry-room,  and,  as  he  described  it  in  a  letter  to  the  lady 


2IO        MOODY  AND  SANKEY  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

who  was  the  means  of  bringing  him  into  light,  "  She  fought  man- 
fully with  him  lor  the  Lord  Jesus,"  and  he  went  home  a  rejoicing 
believer.  These  were  but  few  specimens  of  hundreds  of  cases  he 
could  quote,  and  when  friends  said  to  him  the  night  before,  with 
sad  hearts,  they  were  so  sorry  the  meetings  were  over,  he  could 
only  reply,  "Yes,  and  I  am  so  glad  the  work  is  so  gloriously 
begun." 

Rev.  G.  Flindt  of  Denmark-hill  also  spoke  of  the  work  in  the 
inquiry-room  at  Camberwell.  He  said  that  one  result  of  the  ser- 
vices had  been  to  increase  the  local  congregations.  In  his  own 
church  they  had,  on  several  occasions,  not  had  standing-room 
during  the  visit  of  the  evangelists.  He  had  learned  this  lesson  : 
(hat  if  the  ministry  is  to  be  useful,  a  personal  Christ  must  be 
lifted  up.  A  man  in  the  inquiry-room  had  said  to  him, "  It  seems 
as  if  that  man  (referring  to  Mr.  Moody)  had  his  Friend  quite 
close  to  him,  and  he  was  talking  about  him,"  Only  eternity 
would  reveal  the  good  that  had  been  done  in  the  South  of  Lon- 
don. The  night  before,  at  the  closing  service,  there  were  scores 
of  anxious  ones  who  came  asking  if  it  was  possible,  to  get  a  grip 
of  the  hands  of  the  evangelists,  and  thank  them  for  what  had  been 
told  them  about  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  tears  of  gladness 
flowed  down  many  a  furrowed  cheek  when  they  were  asked  to  go 
home  and  tell  God  all  about  it,  and  thank  Him  for  the  messen- 
gers He  had  sent.  One  remarkable  circumstance  in  connection 
with  the  Camberwell  services  had  been  in  the  attendance  of  a 
number  of  medical  students  from  the  various  hospitals.  Some  of 
the  medical  men  in  the  neighborhood  had  found  time  and  oppor- 
tunity to  invite  them  to  their  houses  to  dine,  and  afterward  had 
spoken  to  them  about  salvation.  If  only  half  a  dozen  young  stu- 
dents were  brought  to  Christ,  what  might  not  be  the  result  when 
they  were  attending  the  sick-beds  of  those  who  should  be  com- 
mitted to  their  care  ?  The  South  London  committee  were  one 
hundred  strong,  and  they  were  going,  by  God's  grace,  to  work 
shoulder  to  shoulder  and  hand  to  hand  in  this  blessed  work. 

Rev  Marcus  Rainsford  said  he  felt  we  were  living  in  days 
which  many  had  looked  and  longed  for,  but  had  not  seen.     He 


MIGHTY   LONDOxN    IS    BLESSED.  2  11 

thought  that  God  had  been  working  much  more  with  the  masses 
than  the  ministers.  For  his  own  part,  he  had  learned  much 
since  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  came  to  London.  Many  pre- 
judices had  been  broken  down,  many  difficulties  removed,  and 
many  a  lesson  learned  that  he  would  never  forget.  He  had  been 
taught  by  a  costermonger  how  to  preach  the  Gospel.  lie  was 
talking  to  a  costermonger  one  evening,  and  trying  to  show  him 
the  great  salvation,  when  a  bright-loQking  young  fellow  came  up 
and  quiedy  put  him  aside,  saying,  "  Sir,  I  found  Christ  last  week  ; 
I  think  I  can  talk  to  this  man  better  than  you."  "  Well,  let  us 
hear  what  you  have  to  say."  "  I  never  heard  such  lingo,"  said 
Mr.  Rainsford.  "  Now,  Joe,  s'pose  it  was  all  up  wi'  yer  ;  mother 
starvin',  wife  starvin',  children  starvin',  and  the  mackerel  no- 
where. S'pose  I  see  yer  lookin'  very  pale  and  sad  and  miserable ; 
and,  says  I,  '  Joe,  here's  a  fat  half  for  you.'  "  (I  wondered  what 
that  was,  but  the  other  seemed  to  know  all  about  it.)  "  I  give 
it  yer  with  all  my  heart.  Away  you  go  to  Billingsgate  and  spend 
the  fat  half."  (It  means  half  a  sovereign,  and  a  sixpence  means 
a  "  thin  half.")  "  You  get  the  mackerel,  and  bring  it  home  ; 
you  get  the  money,  and  you  bring  home  some  bread ;  yes, 
there  it  be  at  home  ;  now  what  would  you  say  ?  "  "I  would  say, 
'  Thank  you  ;  God  bless  you ! '  "  "  Well,  say  that  to  Christ,  for 
He  didn't  give  you  the  fat  half,  but  the  whole."  And  that  was 
the  Gospel  as  ably  and  spiritually  preached,  and  as  blessedly 
preached,  as  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  could  preach  it. 
After  some  further  striking  experiences,  he  expressed  a  hope 
that  the  work  would  go  on  after  our  brethren  had  left,  and  that 
many  would  be  found  to  imitate  their  example  in  telling  of  Jesus 
to  all  around. 

The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  said,  nothing  but  the  positive  command 
of  Mr.  Moody  would  have  induced  him  to  come  forward  on  the 
present  occasion  and  say  but  a  few  words  in  the  presence  of  so 
many  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  But  as  Mr.  Moody  had  asked 
him  to  speak  of  what  had  occurred  during  the  past  four  months, 
he  did  so  with  the  deepest  sense  of  gratitude  to  Almighty  God 
that  he  had  raised  up  a  man  with  such  a  message  and  to  be  de« 


212  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

livered  in  such  a  manner.  And  though  Mr.  Moody  said  they 
were  not  to  praise  him  or  his  friend  Mr.  Sankey,  yet  if  they 
praised  God  for  sending  them  such  men  as  these,  they  did  no 
more  than  express  their  admiration  of  the  instruments  that  He 
had  raised  up,  while  they  gave  Him  all  the  glory.  He  had  been 
conversant  for  many  years  with  the  people  of  this  metropolis,  and 
he  might  tell  them  that  wherever  he  went  he  found  the  traces  of 
these  men,  of  the  impression 'they  had  made,  of  the  feeling  they 
had  produced,  and  of  the  stamp  that  he  hoped  would  be  indelible 
on  many  of  the  people.  He  could  speak  that  as  the  truth  as  to 
many  parts  of  London,  and  the  lowest  parts  of  London.  Only  a 
few  days  ago  he  received  a  letter  from  a  friend  of  his,  a  man 
whose  whole  life  was  given  to  going  among  the  most  wretched 
and  the  most  abandoned  of  the  populous  city  of  Manchester,  and 
who  spoke  of  the  good  that  had  been  effected  there  by  the  preach- 
ing of  Moody  and  Sankey.  A  correspondent  in  Sheffield  had 
also  written  him  that  he  could  not  satisfy  in  any  degree  the  wants 
of  the  people  ;  that  they  were  calling  out  for  tracts  and  something 
that  should  keep  up  the  appetite  that  had  been  created.  Ho 
said,  "  For  God's  sake,  send  me  tracts  by  thousands  and  mil- 
lions !  "  Even  if  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  had  done  nothing 
more  than  to  teach  the  people  to  sing  as  they  did  with  energy 
and  expression,  such  hymns  as  "  Hold  the  fort,  for  I  am  coming," 
they  would  have  conferred  an  inestimable  blessing. 

Mr.  Sankey  then  sang  the  hymn  commencing,  "  There  were 
ninety  and  nine  that  safely  lay,"  after  which  he  said  that  when 
they  got  to  their  own  country  they  would  often  sing  this  hymn 
again,  and  they  trusted  that  God's  blessing  would  accompany  the 
singing  of  it.  They  asked  their  friends  here  to  pray  for  them, 
and  that  the  Lord  would  continue  to  bless  them.  They  would  be 
glad  to  hear  from  their  friends  here,  and  they  trusted  to  hear  that 
the  work  was  going  on. 

Mr.  Moody  said  he  would  ask  them  to  spend  a  few  moments 
in  silent  prayer,  bu'  before  they  did  so,  he  begged  to  thank  the 
ministers  for  the  sympathy  they  had  shown  them  in  the  past  two 
years.      They  had  had  nothing  but  kindness  shown  thc«i.     He 


MIGHTY    LONDON    IS    BLESSED.  213 

also  wished  publicly  to  thank  the  committee,  and  also  the  stew- 
ards, who  had  manifested  toward  them  nothing  but  kindness. 
He  had  also  to  thank  the  reporters  for  the  press.  He  knew  that 
he  had  made  mistakes,  but  they  had  not  reported  his  mistakes  or 
his  failings.  In  fact,  they  had  all  been  kind.  He  also  wished 
to  thank  the  police  for  the  considerate  manner  in  which  they  had 
performed  their  duty.  He  had  one  favor  to  ask  of  them — he 
would  not  ask  them  to  pass  a  resolution,  for  their  hearts  were 
worth  more  than  a  resolution — he  asked  them  to  pray  for  them, 
and  to  continue  to  pray  for  them  as  they  had  done  for  the  last 
two  years.  He  now  asked  them  to  pray  for  a  short  time  in 
silence. 

The  congregation  then  bowed  their  heads,  and,  after  the  lapse 
of  two  or  three  minutes,  audible  prayer  was  offered,  after  which 
Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  hastily  retired,  in  order  to  escape 
the  painful  ordeal  of  bidding  so  many  of  their  friends  a  formal 
good-bye. 


CHAPTER      XXI. 
Farewell  in  Liverpool. 

Turning  reluctantly  away  from  London  where  they  had  tri 
nmphed  gloriously  under  the  Great  Captain  Christ,  they  were 
received  at  the  place  of  final  departure  from  Great  Britain,  in  the 
following  manner  : 

About  a  quarter  to  three  o'clock,  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey, 
with  many  well  known  friends,  were  greeted  by  an  audience  that 
crowded  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  Victoria  Hall.  The 
heartiness  of  the  welcome  found  vent  in  a  universal  clapping  of 
hands,  which,  however,  Mr.  Moody  speedily  stopped  by  a  wave 
of  Wis  hand.  Some  kind  friends  had  placed  very  beautiful  bou- 
quets of  flowers  on  Mr.  Sankey's  organ. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Aitken  said  he  thought  they  could  not  meet  in 
that  hall  without  feeling  that  the  departure  of  their  dear  friends 
for  America  very  greatly  enhanced  the  personal  responsibility 
of  all  who  called  themselves  Christians.  The  blessing  which 
God  had  been  pleased  to  shower  upon  His  work  in  various  parts 
of  the  land  had  put  them  on  a  vantage-ground,  for  they  occupied 
a  b(:tter  position  now  than  they  ever  occupied  before  in  this  land. 
He  did  not  believe  that  the  Church  of  Christ  had  ever  occupied 
a  better  position  in  this  land  than  it  did  at  the  present  moment; 
and  if  that  was  so,  their  responsibility  must  be  proportionately 
heavy.  And  if  ihcy  allowed  themselves  to  lose  their  vantage- 
groui;d  and  slip  back  into  the  dull  routine  of  the  past,  they  would 
have  themselves  to  blame.    ITie  question  before  them  was  a  vory 

814 


FAREWELL    IN    LIVERPOOL. 


215 


practical  one,  and  it  was,  How  were  they  to  push  on  the  advan- 
tage ?  If  they  were  really  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity, 
they  must  expect  further  successes.  He  was  apprehensive  of 
Christian  people  allowing  themselves  to  think  that  the  period 
of  reaction  had  come — that  they  had  been  having  such  great 
encouragement  that  for  a  little  time  they  must  rest  on  their  oars. 
If  they  placed  themselves  in  this  attitude,  they  would  have  them- 
selves to  thank  for  it,  if  God  turned  the  heavens  above  into 
brass,  and  made  the  earth  as  iron  beneath  their  feet ;  therefore 
he  felt  it  incumbent  upon  him  to  sound  this  note  of  warning. 
He  thought  that  their  attitude  should  be  this  :  That  they  should 
thank  God,  and  then  rush  on  against  the  foe  with  fresh  determi- 
nation, believing  that  the  victory  was  only  commencing,  and  that 
inasmuch  as  God  had  given  them  a  position  of  advantage,  they 
must  push  it  on  and  fight  the. battle  out,  until  God  in  his  own 
good  time  placed  the  crown  of  victory  on  their  brow. 

How  was  this  to  be  done  ?  God  expected  every  one  of  them  to 
come  forward  with  the  gospel  of  grace  in  their  hearts  ;  and  if  they 
realized  their  personal  responsibility  and  went  into  the  battle 
fully  determined  to  win  souls  for  Christ,  England  would  very 
soon  feel  the  results  of  their  efforts.  He  desired  to  warn  them 
against  this  season  of  revival  being  followed  by  a  period  of  reac- 
tion. Before  the  present  work  closed,  he  thought  that  minis- 
ters of  Christ,  and  also  lay  people,  especially  those  who  occupied 
influential  positions,  should  ask  themselves  solemnly  what  were 
the  permanent  lessons  which  had  been  brought  before  them  in 
this  great  movement.  Mr.  Moody  had  given  himself  up  to  the 
work  of  evangelization,  and  he  (Mr.  Aitken)  could  not  help 
believing  that  the  Church  of  Christ  from  a  very  remote  period 
had  practically  ignored  the  evangelist's  office.  They  had  their 
local  pastors,  but  he  thought  that  the  evangelist  was  more  likely 
to  be  powerful  in  a  locality  where  he  was  not  permanently  fixed 
than  in  his  own  country.  If  they  were  desirous  to  see  God's 
work  still  carried  on  on  a  large  scale,  those  whom  God  had  in  a 
large  measure  gifted  with  the  power  of  the  evangelist  should  con- 
sider whether  they  could  give  themselves  entirely  to  the  work. 


2l6  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

He  had  done  so,  but  he  utterly  disclaimed  all  credit  on  that  score. 
He  did  not  ihink  he  should  Have  had  the  courage  to  take  that 
step,  but  domestic  circumstances  had  rendered  it  imperatively 
necessary  that  he  should  leave  his  flock  in  Liverpool.  He  had, 
however,  long  been  convinced  of  this  truth,  that  if  a  man  was  to 
be  a  practical  evangelist,  he  must  give  himself  over  to  the  work ; 
and  he  called  upon  God's  people  to  take  this  matter  into  serious 
consideration,  and  say  that  the  great  work  which  had  been  under- 
taken must  be  followed  up  in  all  our  towns  and  villages,  for  he 
believed  that  even  the  villages  needed  it  more  than  the  towns. 

A  great  responsibility  also  rested  on  the  ministers  of  Christ. 
In  almost  all  the  places  where  the  wave  of  blessing  had  passed, 
there  would  be  a  large  number  of  young  converts  who  had  given 
themselves  over  to  God  and  wanted  something  to  do.  Their  duty 
at  this  moment  was  to  set  all  those  young  Christians  to  work. 
There  were  a  great  many  ministers  who  fell  into  the  mistake  of 
trying  to  do  all  the  work  themselves.  What  was  wanted  to  be 
done  was  to  find  specific  spiritual  work  for  those  who  had  given 
themselves  to  God,  and  encourage  them  ;  and  he  wished  to  point 
out  that  unless  this  was  done  they  must  be  the  last  persons  to 
find  fault  with  those  extravagances  which  otherwise  must  develop 
themselves.  If,  instead  of  young  converts  being  taken  by  the 
hand,  they  were  left  in  the  rear  and  not  given  any  kind  of  encour- 
agement, the  result  would  be  that  they  would  either  draw  themselves 
up  in  their  shells  altogether,  or  rush  into  the  opposite  extreme. 

It  seemed  to  him  that  now  was  the  golden  opportunity  ;  and 
unless  they  got  their  young  Christians  to  work,  they  would  have 
to  regret  it  to  the  end  of  their  days.  If,  after  the  departure  of 
their  American  brethren,  they  resolved  to  have  a  holiday  time  of 
it,  then  good-bye  to  their  usefulness,  and  God's  blight  would  rest 
upon  them  instead  of  God's  blessing;  whereas,  if  they  put  them- 
selves into  God's  hands,  depend  upon  it  this  wave  of  blessing 
which  had  swept  over  the  land  was  but  the  beginning  of  good 
things.  He  closed  his  stirring  and  practical  address  in  the 
words  of  Wesley,  which,  he  said,  used  to  be  sung  at  the  close  of 
his  conferences : 


FAREWELL    IN    LIVERPOOL.  217 

"  A  rill,  a  stream,  a  torrent  flows, 
But  send  the  miglity  flood  ; 
Awake  the  nations,  shake  the  earth, 
Till  all  proclaim  Thee  God." 

The  Rev.  A.  N.  Somerville  spoke  next,  and  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  the  meeting  was  fairly  electrified  as  "  the  old  man 
eloquent "  poured  out  the  wealth  of  his  declamation  and  illustra- 
tion in  a  perfect  torrent  of  burning  words,  accompanied  by  highly 
dramatic  and  expressive  gestures.  He  said  Messrs.  Moody  and 
Sankey  did  not  want  them  to  occupy  lime  by  throwing  their 
arms  around  their  necks  and  kissing  them,  but  they  had  given 
them  the  motto,  and  that  was  to  "  advance."  What,  he  asked,  is 
our  great  encouragement?  "All  power  is  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  earth ;  go  ye  therefore  and  teach  (or  disciple)  all  na- 
tions." Just  before  Christ  ascended,  He  said,  "  Ye  shall  receive 
power  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you,  and  ye  shall 
be  witnesses  unto  me  in  Judea  and  Jerusalem,  and  unto  the  ut- 
termost ends  of  the  earth."  Why  did  the  Lord  Jesus  tell  us  He 
had  received  all  power  ?  That  He  might  confer  power  upon  us. 
Mr.  Somerville  recounted  the  exploits  of  the  mighty  men  in  the 
days  of  the  Judges,  upon  whom  the  power  of  God  fell,  and  pro- 
ceeded. The  day  has  come  when  it  will  not  do  for  us  to  remain 
within  this  little  isle.  Larger  efforts  must  be  made  to  proclaim 
Christ's  name  throughout  the  world.  We  read  that  Alexander 
the  Great,  while  a  young  man  (he  died  before  he  was  thirty-two), 
crossed  the  Hellespont  with  only  35,000  infantry  and  5,000  horse- 
men. He  had  provisions  and  money  to  last  them  only  one  month, 
yet  they  went  forth  and  took  possession  of  the  world.  What !  Is 
Alexander  the  Great  to  be  always  spoken  of  as  the  only  man  who 
can  do  the  like  of  this?  Is  Jesus  Christ  not  strong?  Why 
should  we  not  gather  round  Him,  and  in  the  power  of  His  Spirit 
take  possession  of  the  world  ?  We  must  not  only  send  out  men 
to  engage  in  this  blessed  work,  but  the  whole  Church  must,  by 
prayer  and  sympathy,  by  the  voice  of  encouragement,  and  by  lib- 
eral support,  work  together  as  one  man  for  this  great  end.  Wlien 
I  was  in  India,  I  felt  that  wherever  I  went  I  was  borne  up  by  the 
10 


3l8  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

sympathy  and  prayers  of  many  dear  friends  in  my  own  city  of 
Glasgow,  in  Edinburgh,  in  London,  and  in  many  parts  of  the 
world  besides,  and  I  wzls  strong  through  their  sympathy.  If  a 
man  is  sympathized  with  and  encouraged  in  that  way,  he  v.-ill  do 
twice  as  much  as  he  would  do  otherwise.  Mr.  Somerville  illus- 
trated the  power  of  sympathy  by  telling  how  Alexander  the  Great 
was  traversing  a  desert  with  his  followers,  who  were  suffering 
greatly  from  thirst.  Some  one  brought  him  a  little  water  in  9 
helmet,  and  as  he  was  about  to  partake  of  the  precious  refresh- 
ment, he  looked  toward  his  followers,  and  seeing  their  sufferings, 
he  refused  to  drink.  His  men  were  roused  to  action  by  the  sym- 
pathy thus  shown  by  their  leader ;  they  p5t  their  spurs  to  their 
horses,  and  sped  on  to  a  place  where  relief  could  be  found. 
Speaking  of  the  necessity  of  humility  in  Christian  work,  he  quoted 
a  beautifully  apt  simile,  in  the  use  of  which  he  seems  to  excel.  He 
said  the  Rhine,  before  it  reached  Basle,  received  no  fewer  than 
1,200  tributaries.  How  was  this  ?  It  was  l^y  keeping  at  its  lowest 
level.  If  it  had  not,  these  streams  would  have  flowed  somewhere 
else.  He  roused  the  audience  to  such  a  pitch  of  excitement, 
that  when  he  sat  down  they  burst  into  applause,  which  no  at' 
tempt  was  made  to  suppress. 

Mr.  Sankey  then  sang  "  My  Prayer,"  a  beautiful  hymn  of  con- 
secration. He  prefaced  it  by  saying  that  he  would  be  able  to  go 
out  and  work  better  if  we  had  the  blessing  of  which  the  hymn 
told. 

Dr.  Barnardo  then  gave  an  address,  in  the  course  of  which  he 
said  the  question  was  frequently  asked,  "  How  shall  we  reach 
the  masses  ?  "  He  knew  only  of  one  answer :  "  Go  and  preach 
Christ  to  them."  That  must  be  the  bait ;  but  there  must  be 
something  more  than  that.  Not  only  must  they  preach  Christ  in 
His  boundless  love  to  a  dying  world,  but  there  must  be  the  hook 
— such  an  application  of  the  truth  as  should  enter  men's  hearts 
and  draw  them  to  the  Saviour.  What  was  the  great  prerequisite 
to  success  ?  It  was  given  in  the  two  words  of  our  Saviour,  "  Fol- 
low me."  That  was  the  secret  of  successful  service  :  there  was 
no  ro3.Hl  road  ;    their  brother  Mr.  Moody  had  no  knack  in  it 


FAREWELL    IN    LIVERPOOL  2IQ 

God  help  them  to  follow  Christ,  that  they  may  be  tiuly  fishers 
of  men. 

Mr.  Stalker,  of  Edinburgh,  said  he  felt  that  the  past  two  years 
had  been  years  of  great  importance  to  the  whole  country,  and 
would  be  remembered  for  many  years  to  come   as  great  years. 
One  tiling  that  had  made  them  interesting  and  memorable  was 
that  religion  had  been  made  respected  among  the  young  men  of 
the  country.     Young  men  had  been  apt  to  look  down  upon  evan- 
gelical religion  ;   but  in  the  part  he  came  from  they  dared  not  do 
that  now,  because,  in  all  classes  of  the  community,  the  very  back- 
bone of  these  young  men  had  been  won  to  Christ,  and  they  were 
bearing  themselves  so  in  the  ordinary  business  of  life  that  it  was 
impossible  for  those  around  them  not  to  respect  them.    He  never 
thought  of  this  movemetit  without  his  mind  wandering  away  into 
the  future ;  and  he  thought  not  only  of  the  number  of  men  who 
had  been  saved,  but   of  the  young  men  who  were  devoted   to 
Christ  going  on  in  their  various  spheres— in  the  family,  in  social 
intercourse,  in    business,  at    the   university,  in    their   shops,  as 
clerks,  and  in  all  the  different  walks  in  life— distinguishing  them- 
selves, and  showing  that  their   Christianity,  instead   of  keeping 
them  back,  was  helping  them  on  ;    that  their  spiritual   regenera"*- 
tion  had  been  at  the  same  time  moral  and  intellectual  regenera- 
tion; and  that  they  were  determined  to  be  men  in  all  the  depart- 
ments of  life.      He  read  often  with  pity  the  remarks  made  by 
some,  of  the  weakness  of  those  who  took  part  in  this  movement. 
At  the  University  of  Edinburgh  last  April,  there  were  only  six  or 
seven  men  who  secured  first-class  honors,  and  three   of  these 
were  head  and  shoulders  in  this  work.      Only  one  man  got  what 
was  called  a  "double  first,"  and  that  man  he  had  heard  address- 
ing these  revival  meetings.     That  was  the  kind  ot  revival  of  reli- 
gion they  were  having  now  ;    and  he  thanked  God  for  it  with  all 
his  heart,  for  their  preaching  to  young  men  was  far  more  effective 
if  they  could  show  them  that  their  religion  was  making  them  get 
on  well  in  business,  and  do  tjieir  business  well,  and  come  to  the 
front   n  the  ordinary  walks  of  life.     Let  them  seek  to  serve  God 
by  dv^mg  their  work  thoroughl}    and  at  the  same  time,  standing 


220  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

on  that  vantage  ground,  exhort  all  their  brethren  to  get  that 
which  had  made  men  of  them. 

At  the  evening  meeting,  Mr.  Moody  spoke  of  Thanksgiving 
Day  in  America,  the  observance  of  which  brings  all  the  scattered 
members  of  the  household  together.  We  were  strongly  reminded 
of  this  by  the  great  gathering  of  friends  who  had  come  from  far- 
off  parts  of  the  country  to  be  present  at  the  farewell  services  and 
departure  next  day.  Many  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the 
London  services  came  down  expressly  to  say  good-bye  to  their 
evangelist  brethren,  and  not  a  few  had  come  from  across  the 
border,  as  well  as  the  other  English  towns. 

We  have  seldom  had  to  record  anything  else  but  crowded 
meetings  in  connection  with  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey's  ser- 
vices, but  this  last  evening  meeting  of  all  must  have  been — if  that 
were  possible — more  crowded  than  any.  As  one  of  the  local 
papers  of  next  day  puts  it :  "  Every  .inch  of  space  where  a  person 
could  sit,  or  stand,  or  crouch,  was  occupied." 

Mr.  Sankey  sang  '•'  I  am  praying  for  you,"  and  before  doing  so 
lie  said :  "  When  we  are  gon-e  from  among  you,  we  hope  that  you 
will  remember  to  pray  for  us,  as  we  will  surely  remember  to  pray 
for  you.  Pray  God  that  He  may  use  us  in  our  own  dear  land  as 
He  has  used  us  here,  and  even  more  abundantly.  May  the  bless- 
ing of  God  rest  upon  the  singing  of  this  hymn  to-night." 

Mr.  Moody  then  commenced  his  address,  and  spoke  for  more 
than  an  hour,  but  to  the  very  last  there  was  the  most  rapt  atten- 
tion. By  some  means  the  gas  could  not  be  lit,  and  as  the  fading 
twilight  deepened  into  darkness  the  scene  became  intensely  sol- 
emn, as  Mr.  Moody's  earnest  and  sometimes  fiiltering  words  fell 
on  the  hushed  and  eagerly  attentive  multitude.  At  the  close  of 
his  address  he  offered  fervent  prayer.  He  besought  God's  bless- 
ing on  England  and  America,  on  the  work  among  the  young  men, 
and  on  the  ministers,  his  utterances  anon  being  stayed,  by  his 
evident  emohon. 

^lr.  Sankey's  voice  found  expression  for  the  last  time  in  the 
farewell  hymn  which  he  has  sung  at  many  of  the  towns  visited, 
though  not  in  London.     As  Mr   Sankey  sang  it.  by  the  light  of  a 


FAREWELL    IN    LIVERPOOL.  221 

candle,  to  the  justly  popular  tune  of  "  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  the 
audience  was  much  moved.  It  was  the  last  time  many  of  ihcm 
will  probably  hear  Mr.  Sankey's  voice,  and  we  are  sure  none  of 
those  present  will  be  able  to  forget  it. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  after  the  general  meeting,  a  few  friends 
gathered  at  the  Compton  Hotel,  and  two  or  three  hours  were 
spent  in  an  informal  conversation  on  the  subject  always  upper- 
most in  Mr.  Moody's  thoughts — the  best  way  to  benefit  young 
men — to  conserve  and  utilize  in  the  way  of  righteousness,  for  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  men,  the  young  manhood  of  Great 
Britain,  America,  and  the  world. 

We  believe  that  if  one  thing  more  than  another  will  induce  Mr. 
Moody  to  return  to  Great  Britain,  it  will  be  the  desire  to  weld 
together  its  Christian  young  men  into  a  band  of  fellow-laborers, 
that,  by  the  operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  shall  be  in  the  midst 
of  many  peoples  as  a  dew  from  the  Lord,  and  as  a  lion  among 
the  beasts  of  the  forest.  And  to  tell  the  truth,  we  expect  that  it 
will  not  be  years  before  we  see  our  brethren  again  among  us. 

The  last  service  in  England  was  held  by  Mr.  Moody  on  the 
morning  of  their  departure,  so  that  we  may  say  they  left  our 
shores  "  with  their  harness  on  their  backs."  Mr.  Sankey  was  not 
present. 

The  hall  was  opened  at  seven  o'clock,  by  which  time  consider- 
able crowds  had  gathered  at  all  the  doors,  and  before  Mr.  Moody 
made  his  appearance  at  twenty  minutes  past  seven  there  were 
some  5,000  or  6,000  persons  in  the  hall.  After  praise  and  prayer, 
Mr.  Moody  read  part  of  the  first  chapter  of  Joshua  and  twenty- 
sixth  chapter  of  Leviticus.  He  proceeded  to  give  a  short  address 
to  the  young  men,  the  first  part  of  which  was  an  earnest  plea  for 
a  systematic  study  of  the  Bible  and  Bible  characters,  and  for  union 
with  some  organized  body  of  Christians.  He  also  urged  on  them 
the  necessity  of  having  some  definite  work  to  do,  and  not  to  at- 
tempt too  many  things  at  one  time.  "  I  have  been  wonderfully 
cheered,"  he  continued,  "during  the  past  months  by  the  tidings 
coming  from  Liverpool.  I  want  to  say  from  the  depths  of  my 
heart,  God  bless  you,  young  men.     The  eyes  of  Christendom  are 


2  22  MOODV    AND    SANKEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Upon  you.  Perhaps  there  has  not  been  a  place  where  the  work 
has  been  so  deep  and  thorough  as  the  work  here  among  the 
young  men.  I  believe  it  was  in  answer  to  the  prayers  that  went 
up  for  it  when  we  were  here  six  months  ago.  And  now,  as  we 
cross  the  Atlantic,  it  will  cheer  us  as  tidings  come  that  the  young 
men  are  still  advancing.  Do  not  fold  your  arms  and  say,  '  We 
will  have  a  good  time  next  fall.'  God  is  just  as  ready  to  work  in 
August  as  in  July.  If  some  have  gone  out  of  town  on  their  holi 
days,  the  work  should  not  stop ;  I  think  it  is  the  best  time  to 
work  when  many  are  away.  Every  man  ought  to  be  worth  the 
five  or  six  that  are  away.  Then  the  work  will  go  on.  The  great 
revival  at  Pentecost  was  in  the  hot  weather,  and  also  in  a  very 
hot  country.  People  think  there  cannot  be  any  interest  in  the 
warm  months;  but  if  the  prayer  goes  up  to  the  throne,  God  does 
not  look  to  see  what  month  it  is.  He  is  as  ready  to  bless  in  one 
month  as  in  another.  Let  me  give  you  the  watchword  we  had 
yesterday  afternoon — '  Advance.'  I  hope  there  will  be  a  fresh 
interest  awakened  in  Liverpool  as  there  has  been  in  Manchester, 
I  do  not  know  of  anything  that  has  encouraged  me  more  than  to 
hear  of  the  work  going  on  in  Manchester  for  the  last  six  weeks, 
I  hope  Liverpool  and  Manchester  will  shake  hands  in  carrying 
on  the  work,  and  let  the  lies  of  those  skeptics  who  say  it  is  only 
*a  nine  days*  wonder '  be  driven  back.  I  cannot  talk  longer.  I 
say  from  the  depths  of  my  heart,  I  love  you ;  God  bless  you,  and 
may  the  power  of  God  come  upon  you  this  morning  afresh." 

After  the  hymn,  "  Free  from  the  law,"  had  been  sung,  Mr. 
Alexander  Balfour  said,  "  I  do  not  know  whether  I  am  the  proper 
person  on  behalf  of  this  audience  to  say  good-bye  to  our  dear 
friend,  Mr.  Moody,  and  our  absent  friend,  Mr.  Sankey ;  but  I  feel 
that  there  must  be  some  mouthpiece  to  say  to  them  what  we 
really  do  feel.  We  thank  them  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  and 
souls  for  what  they  have  come  here  and  done.  Unless  Mr.  Moody 
had  been  n  min  like  a  cannon-ball  for  hardness  of  material,  for 
directness  of  aim,  and  for  strength  of  will,  he  could  never  have  done 
what  he  has  been  privileged  by  God  to  do.  His  wisdom  has  been 
conspicuous  in  discovering  this — that  our  young  men  in  Liverpool 


FAREWELL    IX    LIVERPOOL 


223 


aod  elsewhere  in  this  country  have  been  greatly  neglected,  and  in 
choosing  them  to  be,  for  the  future,  not  merely  the  recipients 
of  God's  grace,  but  the  distributors  of  it.  I  do  feel  that  Mr. 
Moody,  in  having  given  so  much  attention  to  our  young  men,  has 
really  done  the  right  thing.  Many  know  that  Liverpool  has  been 
a  curse  to  young  men.  They  have  come  here  and  been  led  astray 
into  all  kinds  of  mischief  and  wickedness.  How  many  broken 
hearts  are  there  in  this  country  because  of  the  mischief  done  to 
young  men  in  Liverpool !  On  behalf  of  the  mothers  and  sisters 
of  this  country,  I  want  to  give  Mr.  Moody  the  most  heartfelt  vote 
of  thanks  that  it  is  in  my  power  to  convey ;  and  on  behalf  of  thou- 
sands who  shall  be  influenced  by  the  young  men  in  Liverpool,  I 
want  to  convey  to  him  the  tribute  of  gratitude  for  what  he  has 
done.  As  President  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
I  want  to  say  this :  That  it  is  our  purpose  as  young  men  to  go  on 
with  the  work ;  and,  by  God's  grace,  we  shall  not  go  back,  but 
advance  in  our  endeavor  to  do  our  duty  before  God  and  men." 

Mr.  Moody,  in  reply,  simply  said,  "  I  will  now  shake  hands  with 
you  all  in  the  person  of  the  President  of  the  Association  ";  and 
the  meeting  having  been  closed,  he  returned  to  the  Compton 
Hotel,  surrounded  by  a  large  crowd,  which  sang,  "  Hold  the 
fort,"  and  the  "Doxology"  in  the  street  in  front  of  the  hotel. 
Many  of  them  lingered  there  during  the  hour  and  a  half  that 
elapsed  before  Mr.  Moody,  Mrs.  Moody,  and  family,  accompan- 
ied by  a  large  number  of  friends,  drove  away  to  the  landing-stage. 
They  were  followed  by  the  enthusiastic  cheers  of  the  assembled 
multitude.  Mr.  Sankey  stayed  at  the  residence  of  a  friend,  and 
so  escaped  much  of  the  popular  attention  that  Mr.  Moody  had  to 
undergo. 

A  special  tender  was  provided  for  the  conveyance  of  the  evan- 
gelists and  their  party  to  the  "Spain";  and  Mr.  Sankey,  who 
spent  the  night  at  Edge-lane,  and  most  of  the  friends,  went  on 
board  of  it  shortly  before  Mr.  Moody.  As  Mr.  Sankey  passed 
across  the  landing-stage,  upon  which  a  large  number  of  people 
had  assembled,  he  was  warmly  cheered. 

As  Mr.  Moody  emerged  from  the  hotel,  a  hearty  cheer  aiose 


224  MOODY    AND    SAX  KEY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

from  the  crowd,  and  people  rushed  to  the  door  cf  the  cab  on  each 
side  to  shake  hands  with  him,  and  bid  him  good-bye.  The  cab 
was,  however,  immediately  driven  away  to  the  stage  amidst 
renewed  and  warm  cheering.  For  some  time  prior  to  the  hour 
at  which  the  special  tender  was  to  leave  for  the  ^*  Spain,"  people 
began  to  assemble  on  the  Prince's  pier  and  the  landing-stage, 
and  when  Mr.  Moody  arrived,  there  were  several  thousands  pre- 
sent. A  wide  strip  of  the  stage  was  kept  clear  by  the  police  for 
the  party  to  walk  to  the  tender,  and  as  Mr.  Moody  went  on  board 
he  was  heartily  cheered,  which  he  acknowledged  by  bowing. 
When  the  company  were  all  on  board,  the  tender  steamed  away. 
As  it  passed  down  the  river,  the  people  upon  the  pier  and  the 
landing-stage  cheered  with  increased  heartiness,  and  waved 
their  hats  and  handkerchiefs.  Their  example  was  imitated  by 
the  people  on  the  ferry-boats  moored  at  the  stage  or  crossing  the 
river ;  and  when  the  cheering  had  subsided,  the  people  on  the 
stage  struck  up  one  of  the  well-known  hymns.  The  sorrowful 
countenances  of  many  of  the  people  showed  that  it  was  with  no 
ordinary  feelings  of  regret  that  they  saw  the  evangelists  going 
away. 

The  tender  reached  the  "Spain"  about  an  hour  before  the 
time  for  the  ship  to  weigh  anchor,  and  the  interval  was  fully  occu- 
pied in  taking  leave  of  the  evangelists,  and  in  receiving  from 
them  or  conveying  to  them  parting  words  of  comfort  and  encour- 
agement. Mr.  Moody  again  urged  those  who  have  been  his  fel- 
low-laborers in  this  and  other  districts  to  remain  united,  and  to 
carry  on  the  work  with  courage  and  determination ;  whilst  on 
the  other  hand,  there  were  very  numerous  expressions  of  the 
hope  that  a  success  equal  to  that  of  the  last  two  years  may  attend 
the  evangelists'  labors  wherever  and  whenever  they  may  be 
resumed.  Many  of  the  leave-takings,  from  their  intense  earnest- 
ness, were  very  affecting.  Only  when  the  "  Spain's  "  anchor  was 
being  raised,  and  the  tender  was  upon  the  point  of  starting, 
could  many  of  the  friends  tear  themselves  away.  As  the  last  of 
the  people  '*  for  the  shore  "  were  leaving  the  ship,  those  who  were 
already  on  board  the  tender  sang  the  hymn,  "  Safe  in  the  arms  of 


FAREWELL    IN    LIVERPOOL. 


225 


Jesus."  As  the  "Spain"  moved  slowly  down  the  river,  the  peo- 
ple in  the  tender,  which  was  still  alongside,  cheered  heartily, 
and  the  passengers  on  board  the  "Spain"  replied  with  another 
cheer,  and  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs  anc'  hats.  As  the  "  Spain  " 
passed  on  ahead,  the  people  in  the  tender  sang  the  hymn, "  Hold 
the  fort,"  and  afterwards  the  hymn,  "  Work,  for  the  night  is  com- 
ing." Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey  stood  at  the  bulwarks  of  the 
'*  Spain  "  and  bowed  and  waved  their  handkerchiefs  until  the  two 
ships  were  out  of  sight  of  each  other.  Shortly  before  the  tender 
reached  Liverpool,  prayer  was  offered  up  on  board  by  Mr.  R. 
Radcliff,  and  other  gentlemen,  for  the  safe  arrival  of  the  evan- 
gelists at  their  destination,  and  for  the  subsequent  success  of 
their  labors,  whether  carried  on  in  England  or  America. 


Part   III. 


A  COMPLETE   HISTORY 

OF  THB 

CAREER  AND  WORK 

OF 

MOODY   AND    SANKEY, 

IN    AMERICA- 


MOODY    AND    SANKEV    IN    AMERICA.  237 


CHAPTER     XXII. 
Moody  and  Sankey  in  Brooklyn. 

When  their  wonderful  career  was  over  in  the  old  country, 
and  they  returned  to  their  native  land,  these  laborers  felt 
the  need  of  rest,  and  desired  to  greet  once  more  their  kin- 
dred from  whom  they  had  so  long  been  separated.  Mr.  Moody 
proceeded  at  once  to  Northfield,  Massachusetts,  to  the  home 
of  his  mother,  where  he  could  rest,  or  gather  strength  for 
the  work  already  marked  out  for  him  and  his  associate  in 
America.  For  great  expectations  had  b^en  raised  by  their 
success  abroad,  and  eager  multitudes  awaited  their  coming. 
While  in  Northfield,  delegations  visited  Mr.  Moody,  requesting 
his  services  in  various  cities  of  the  Union,  whenever  he  felt 
able  to  resume  the  service  temporarily  laid  aside.  While 
reposing  among  the  quiet  scenes  of  his  early  days,  the  wants  of 
the  community  pressed  heavily  on  his  heart,  and  his  old  neigh- 
bors were  anxious  to  hear  him  preach  again.  He  came  among 
them  as  a  conquering  hero,  bearing  rich  trophies  and  bright 
laurels.  The  pent-up  fires  of  religious  earnestness  and  fervor 
burst  forth  again,  and  he  poured  out  his  soul  to  the  thronging 
multitudes,  who  gathered  from  flir  and  near  to  hear  the 
Gospel  from  his  burning  lips.  The  Unitarian  pastor  attempted 
to  controvert  and  hinder  him  in  his  work,  but  was  cast  aside  as 
a  leaf  before  the  whirlwind.  The  tidings  flashed  over  the  land 
that  God  was  with  his  servants  at  Northfield,  and  raised  expec- 
tation higher  than  ever.  Bui  there  were  some  who  doubted. 
They  said,  and  with  plausibility,  that  the  songs  were  familiar 
here,  and  the  direct  address  was  characteristically  American, 
and  these  men  could  scarcely  interest  and  hold  people  as  they 
had  done  abroad.  The  answer  will  be  found  stated  in  the 
compend  we  have   made  of  the    reports  and  editorials  of  the 


228  MOODY   AND    SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

press,  for  the  benefit  of  our  readers  who  may  desire  a  record 
of  these  glorious  events,  that  shall  stir  their  hearts  and  show 
what  God  hath  wrought.  Mr.  Moody,  after  long  and  careful 
consultation,  resolved  to  visit  Philadelphia  first;  but,  upon 
urgent  appeals  from  the  City  of  Churches,  he  commenced 
there  October  24,  1875.  Money  was  freely  subscribed  and  a 
perfect  Union  of  Christians  obtained.  The  services  were 
arranged  to  be  held  in  the  Rink  on  Clermont  Avenue,  and 
prayer  meetings,  in  Talmage's  Tabernacle.  The  preaching  on 
Sundays  began  at  half-past  eight,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with 
the  regular  church  meetings.  An  afternoon  preaching  service 
occurred  at  four,  and  a  meeting  at  nine  p.  m.,  for  young  men. 
From  the  journals  we  gather  the  events  of  the  course  of  revival 
efforts,  and  arrange  them  in  such  order  as  may  convey  the  best 
general  view  of  the  whole  marvelous  series,  without  stopping 
to  quote  the  several  sources  of  information. 

All  calculations  with  regard  to  the  coming  of  the  evangelists, 
Moody  and  Sankey,  have  been  at  fault.  The  numbers  inter- 
ested, the  assistance  at  hand,  the  religious  feeling  awakened, 
have  all  been  underestimated.  This  was  not  a  result  of  mis- 
management,— on  the  contrary,  the  management  has  been 
singularly  good, — but  a  misconception  of  the  depth  and  earn- 
estness of  the  religious  feeling  which  awaited  the  coming  of 
the  evangelists  and  stood  ready  at  once  to  aid  and  to  respond 
to  their  efforts.  This  religious  spirit  has  been  lately  aroused 
in  this  country  by  various  causes,  chief  among  which  we  reckon 
the  general  trade  and  business  depression  which  now,  as 
always  in  the  past,  tends,  while  multiplying  men's  troubles,  to 
quicken  their  sympathetic  and  religious  feelings.  The  demon- 
stration yesterday  in  Brooklyn  was  expected  to  be  noticeable 
and  earnest,  but  in  its  magnitude  it  has  proved  a  surprise. 
The  reputation  won  by  Moody  and  Sankey  abroad  specially 
adapted  them  to  lead  in  a  general  revival,  and  led  all  to  antici- 
pate a  great  following  to  hear  them,  but  that  three  or  four  times 
the  numbers  in  attendance  would  have  to  be  turned  away  was 
wholly  unexpected.  And  instead  of  an  effort  being  required 
to  awaken  interest  and  arouse  dormant  feelings,  it  was  soon 


MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


229 


discovered    that    the   audience  was    as    intensely  earnest   and 
sympathetic  as  the  leaders  themselves. 

Some  of  the  indications  of  this  spirit,  as  betrayed  at  yes- 
terday's meetings,  are  curious.  The  morning  services  were 
begun  at  half-past  eight  o'clock.  Before  six  in  the  morning 
the  crowd  began  to  gather  at  the  doors  ;  at  eight  o'clock  over 
five  thousand  persons  were  seated  in  the  building,  and  three 
thousand  or  more  had  been  turned  away  for  lack  of  standing 
room.  In  the  afternoon  twelve — possibly  twenty — thousand 
were  unable  to  gain  admittance;  meetings  had  to  be  organized 
in  neighboring  churches  (Mr.  Sankey  going  from  place  to  place 
singing  his  songs),  while  the  sidewalks  and  house-stoops  for 
blocks  around  were  black  with  the  constantly  increasing  crowd. 
Additional  car-tracks  had  been  laid  by  the  street  railroad  com- 
panies to  the  doors  of  the  building,  and  though  cars  were  run 
at  intervals  of  only  one  minute,  many  thousands  had  to  wend 
their  ways  homeward  on  foot.  The  prayer  with  which  the 
services  were  begun,  though  delivered  by  a  minister  whose 
manner  is  never  impassioned  and  whose  style  is  purely  argU' 
mentative,  was  interrupted  by  frequent  and  fervent  ejaculations 
from  the  audience,  indicating  the  intense  sympathy  with  the 
movement  which  existed.  The  songs  of  Mr.  Sankey  renewed 
and  heightened  these  demonstrations,  and  the  utterances  of  Mr. 
Moody  raised  the  excitement,  enthusiasm,  religious  fervor,  as 
one  may  choose  to  call  it,  to  the  highest  pitch. 

These  comments  are  founded  on  the  reports  of  the  first 
meetings,  of  which  we  have  most  glowing  accounts,  like  the 
following. 

It  was  early  evident  to  the  coldest  and  most  sceptical  per- 
son present  at  yesterday's  services  that  the  revival  spirit  was 
thoroughly  aroused,  and  the  people  ripe  for  a  great  and  enthu- 
siastic religious  demonstration.  This  feeling  was  manifested  at 
the  veiy  beginning  of  the  services,  during  the  prayer  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Budington.  Many  familiar  with  the  gentleman's  manner 
thought  that  his  selection  for  this  duty  was  an  error  of  judgment 
on  the  part  of  the  managers.  Dr.  Budington  has  never  made 
any  claims  to  being  a  magnetic  speaker.     He  is  logical  in  style, 


230  MOODY   AND   SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

and  his  manner  of  delivery  is  polished  but  cold.  His  words 
would,  probably,  by  their  logical  force,  always  keep  for  him 
the  close  attention  of  an  intellectual  assemblage,  but  they 
would  not  on  any  ordinary  occasion  arouse  deep  feeling  or 
enthusiasm.  Yesterday,  before  he  had  uttered  half  a  dozen 
sentences  of  the  prayer,  fervent  "  amens  "  came  from  many  lips, 
and  there  were  other  signs  of  profound  emotion  in  the  great 
throng. 

The  next  opportunity  which  was  offered  for  the  display  of 
this  fervent  and  reverential  enthusiasm  was  during  the  singing 
of  the  1 20th  Hymn  by  Mr.  Sankey.  Mr.  Moody  had  said,  im- 
mediately after  reading  from  the  Bible,  "  I  am  going  to  ask  Mr. 
Sankey  to  sing  the  120th  Hymn  alone  " — a  sharp  emphasis  on 
the  last  word.  The  instant  hush  of  expectation  as  the  great 
audience  settled  back  prepared  to  hear  something  that  should 
appeal  to  their  hearts,  was  very  marked,  but  as  Mr.  Sankey's 
magnetic  voice  and  wonderfully  expressive  singing  filled  the 
great  auditorium,  the  sympathy  among  his  hearers  grew  and  in- 
creased until  it  seemed  as  if,  had  he  continued  the  sweet  melody 
and  earnest  supplication,  every  person  in  the  whole  audience 
would  have  risen  and  joined  with  him  in  a  grand  musical  prayer 
of  mingled  appeal  and  thanksgiving.  The  effect  he  produced 
was  simply  marvelous.  Many  responses,  such  as  "Amen  "  and 
"Glory  to  God,"  were  heard  from  all  parts  of  the  vast  assembly, 
and  at  the  close  a  great  many  men  as  well  as  women  were  in 
tears.  Mr.  Sankey's  voice  is  a  marvel  of  sweetness,  flexibility, 
and  strength.  I'hcre  is  a  simplicity  about  his  vocalism  which 
disarms  the  criticism  that  would  apply  to  it  any  of  the  rules 
of  art.  It  has  a  charm  purely  its  own,  which  attracts  and 
holds  one  with  a  power  that  is  gentle  but  irresistible. 

Mr.  Moody's  appearance  during  the  delivery  of  his  sermon 
was  as  one  man  standing  in  a  sea  of  men  and  women.  On  all 
sides,  and  even  in  rear  of  him,  were  the  assembled  5,000  persons, 
r.early  all  on  a  slightly  lower  plane  than  himself.  Every  one's 
attention  was  closely  directed  to  him,  and,  in  moments  of  intense 
utterance  or  emphasis  of  some  religious  truth,  fervent  responses 
came   from   every   part  of  the  room.     And   when,  toward  the 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  231 

close  of  his  sermon,  he  told  his  hearers  that  they  must  lay  aside 
the  world,  its  vanities,  pleasures,  parties,  festivals,  and  its  other 
gayeties,  if  they  would  "go  up  at  once  and  take  the  land,"  the 
responsive  '^  Amcns,"  "  Yes,  yes,"  "Glory  to  God,"  and  "  Aye, 
aye,"  were  very  numerous,  and  came  from  every  quarter  of  the 
auditorium.  Mr.  Moody's  manner  in  the  pulpit  was  not  such  as 
a  trained  elocutionist  would  use.  He  is  evidently  a  man  who 
in  his  diligent  search  for  truths  has  made  little  study  of  forms. 
He  is  quick  in  his  movements,  and  so  rapid  in  speech  that  the 
swiftest  stenographer  present  yesterday  could  not  reproduce  his 
language  literally.  He  is  earnest  and  vigorous  in  enunciation 
and  gesture,  and  wholly  without  studied  art.  But  as  one  listens, 
he  becomes  irresistibly  convinced  that  an  intense  earnestness 
and  unquestioning  faith  in  the  saving  power  of  Christianity 
inspire  the  rugged,  sinewy  oratory  of  the  speaker.  Often 
neglecting  a  syllable  and  sacrificing  a  sound,  not  always  correct 
in  grammar  or  fluent  in  speech,  he  appears  to  the  amazed  lis- 
tener a  man  who  feels  more  than  he  can  express,  whose  brain 
is  big  with  great  thoughts  which  speech — earnest  and  eager  as 
Mr.  Moody's  language  is — is  incapable  of  expressing,  and  which, 
in  their  rapid  delivery,  tread  so  fast  on  each  other's  heels  as  to 
more  or  less  mar  each  other's  form. 

The  music  is  under  the  direct  charge  of  Mr.  Sankey.  In  ac- 
cordance with  his  request  the  choir  is  composed  of  singers  who 
are  themselves  Christians,  and  recommended  by  their  pastors 
as  such.  It  numbers  250  voices.  There  have  been  500  names 
entered,  so  that  there  will  always  be  a  reserve  force  of  as  many 
more  as  are  requisite  from  which  to  keep  the  ranks  full.  The 
singers  have  been  undergoing  several  rehearsals,  with  a  view  to 
adapting  themselves  in  various  points  of  expression  to  the  spirit 
of  the  words  they  utter.  The  last  of  these  was  conducted  on 
Saturday  night  by  Mr.  Sankey.  There  will  be  one  large  organ 
to  assist  the  choir  and  audience,  and  a  smaller  one  upon  which 
Mr.  Sankey  accompanies  himself  in  his  solos. 
.  One  of  the  papers  said,  near  the  close  of  the  campaign  : 
Moody  and  Sankey  will  advance  upon  Philadelphia,  after 
their  Brooklyn   experience,   as  conquerors.     There   was  great 


232  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

anxiety  about  their  success  when  they  made  their  advent  in 
Brooklyn  a  month  ago.  They  had  stirred  up  England  and 
Scotland  just  before  their  arrival  in  this  country  ;  but  still  there 
were  doubts  whether  the  conditions  here  were  as  favorable  as  they 
had  been  there.  The  ''  evangelist"  Varley  and  his  assistants  had 
carried  on  revival  operations  here  last  year,  in  the  Hippodrome 
and  elsewhere;  but  they  w-ere  failures.  Moody  himself  had 
worked  among  us  with  very  slight  results  before  he  went  abroad. 
Other  revivalists  had  tried  their  powers  in  various  places,  and 
met  with  discouragement.  But  the  very  first  meeting  held  by 
Moody  and  Sankey,  on  the  24th  of  last  month,  was  a  triumph, 
so  far  as  it  could  be  made  so  by  the  multitudes  in  attendance  and 
the  number  of  anxious  inquirers.  From  then  until  now,  the 
popular  interest  has  not  only  been  sustained,  but  has  increased  ; 
and  the  meetings  of  the  last  two  evenings,  especially  that  of  last 
evening,  show  that  the  revival  is  yet  at  its  flood  tide.  It  is  from 
such  scenes  that  Moody  and  Sankey  go  to  Philadelphia.  We  are 
not  surprised  that  the  pious  Philadelphians  now  look  for  great 
things,  or  that  they  expect  a  Pentecostal  season  without  prece- 
dent in  their  city.  We  hope  that,  if  they  enjoy  it,  they  will  be 
the  better  for  it,  and  that  the  fruits  of  it  will  be  apparent  to  all 
observers. 

Mr.  Moody  himself  was  not  surprised  at  what  was  witnessed, 
for  he  said  to  the  reporters :  "  I  have  nowhere  found  more  im- 
pressionable audiences  than  in  Brooklyn.  In  England,  where 
I  was  successful,  my  friends  counseled  me  against  going 
into  Scotland,  saying  that  I  could  not  move  the  cool,  calculat- 
ing spirit  of  the  Scotchman  ;  and  when  I  started  for  Ireland, 
they  told  me  that  the  volatile  Irish  were  the  last  people  in  the 
world  among  whom  I  could  labor  with  good  results.  But  in 
both  those  countries  there  were  as  great  awakenings  as  any  I 
have  ever  seen.  It  made  me  think  that  hearts  are  the  same 
all  over  the  world." 

"  What  has  been  the  most  encouraging  feature  of  your  recep- 
tion in  Brooklyn  ? " 

"  The    union    of  the  churches.     All  the  clergy  seem  to  be 


MOODY    AXD    SANKEY    IN    AMKRICA.  233 

working  zealously  and  harmoniously  and  intelligently  to  carry 
on  the  work."' 

"  And  the  most  discou racking  ?  " 

"  My  inability  to  reach  the  great  masses  who  ought  to  be 
saved.  Still,  they  may  be  yet  approached  through  the  churches, 
t'oi-  this  movement  has  not  stopped." 

'*  Have  you  any  estimate  of  the  number  of  converts  made?" 
asked  the  reporter,  for  Mr.  Moody  volunteers  nothing  to  an 
interviewer. 

''  I  have  not  one,  and  cannot  make  one.  Many  go  to  their 
own  pastors,  and  do  not  come  near  the  inquiry  room,  and 
many  more  of  the  wounded  will  be  won  if  the  work  is  carried 
on  as  it  should  be." 

He  said  that  he  as  yet  felt  no  fatigue,  and  that  he  had  been 
able  to  carry  on  four  meetings  a  day  in  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland,  for  over  two  years,  without  breaking  down.  He  ex- 
pressed great  satisfaction  with  the  opening  meetings,  saying 
that  he  had  never  had  a  more  encouraging  outlook.  Every- 
thing had  been  planned  after  the  very  best  manner,  and  the 
indications  of  success  were  as  satisfactory  as  any  he  had  found 
abroad.  The  prayer  meeting  yesterday  morning  was  more 
successful  than  he  could  have  expected.  In  Great  Britain 
these  meetings  were  held  at  noon,  but  at  no  time  was  there  a 
larger  attendance  than  yesterday.  Many  of  the  meetings  there 
had  been  overestimated  in  the  numbers  in  attendance.  He 
had  yet  to  learn  of  a  circumstance  in  this  country  that  was  un- 
favorable. In  Brooklyn  he  had  found  a  universal  feeling  of 
cordiality  and  support,  and  in  all  he  had  known  of  the  other 
cities  to  which  he  and  ^Ir.  Sankey  had  been  invited,  there  was 
the  same  unvarying  encouragement.  Some  of  the  newspapers 
had  stated  that  in  New  York  there  were  some  ministers  who 
disapproved  of  their  coming,  but  he  had  found  the  feeling  there 
fully  as  universal  and  sympathetic  as  anywhere  else.  America 
differed  in  this  respect  from  Great  Britain.  In  the  latter  coun- 
try he  and  Mr.  Sankey  were  strangers,  and  many  people 
regarded  them  at  first  from  aloof,  and  it  was  only  after  they 
became  belter  known  and  their  work  was  understood  that  tho 


234  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

sentiments  became  cordial  and  the  interest  general.  He  there- 
fore believed  that  a  still  greater  work  would  be  accomplished 
in  the  United  States  than  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic 

Said  Mr.  Moody  :  "  I  am  the  most  overestimated  man  in 
this  country.  By  some  means  the  people  look  upon  me  as  a 
great  man,  but  I  am  only  a  lay  preacher,  and  have  little  learn- 
ing. I  don't  know  what  will  become  of  me  if  the  newspapers 
continue  to  print  all  of  my  sermons.  My  stock  will  be 
exhausted  by  and  by,  and  I  must  repeat  the  old  ideas  and 
teachings.  Brooklyn  every  Sunday  hears  a  score  of  better 
sermons  than  I  can  preach.  I  can't  get  up  such  sermons  as 
Drs.  Budington  and  Cuyler  and  Talmage,  and  many  others 
who  preach  here  week  after  week.  I  don't  know  what  I 
shall  do." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  interest  excited  by  Mr.  Moody  in 
such  men  as  Mr.  Beecher,  the  prince  of  preachers,  who  said  at 
one  of  his  lectures,  the  impression  he  had  gained  in  conversa- 
tion with  Mr.  Moody  was  that  the  number  of  persons  who  had 
been  converted  from  the  outside  world,  while  not  inconsiderable, 
has  not  yet  been  large.  This  leaves  the  comforting  thought,  he 
added,  that  the  greatest  benefit  of  the  meetings  is  yet  to  accrue. 
He  spoke  further,  suggesting  different  methods  to  prolong  the 
Christian  meetings.  He  could  not  see  how  they  could  carry  on 
the  central  meetings  with  continued  success.  If  every  church 
tried  to  be  a  little  Rink,  and  everybody  a  litile  Moody  and  San- 
key,  they  would  fail  because  imitations  were  very  inferior.  Moody 
was  no  careless  worker  ;  no  man  had  a  more  definite  conception 
of  the  end  he  aimed  at.  "  On  last  Saturday,"  said  Mr.  Beecher, 
"  I  had  the  pleasure  of  two  or  three  hours'  conference  with  Mr. 
Moody  in  my  own  house.  I  thought  I  saw  the  secret  of  his 
working  and  plans.  He  is  a  believer  in  the  second  advent  of 
Christ,  and  in  our  own  time.  He  thinks  it  is  no  use  to  attempt 
to  work  for  this  world.  In  his  opinion  it  is  blasted — a  wreck 
bound  to  sink — and  the  only  thing  that  is  worth  doing  is  to  get 
as  many  of  the  crew  off  as  you  can,  and  let  her  go.  All  that  is 
worth  doing  is  to  work  and  wait  for  the  appearance  of  the 
Master,  and  not  to  attempt  a  thorough  regeneration  of  a  com- 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMKRICA.  235 

plicated  State  of  society.  He  thinks  that  Christ  may  come  even 
to-morrow.  1  should  be  a  burning  fire  all  the  time  if  I  believed 
like  that,  but  I  do  not  say  that  I  must  believe  like  that  to  be  a 
burning  fire." 

Mr.  NordhofT,  an  accomplished  literary  gentleman,  wrote  of 
the  evangelists  a  capital  review  for  the  "  Herald  "  from  whicii 
we  copy : 

Mr.  Moody  is  a  short  and  somewhat  stout  man,  with  a  full 
dark  beard,  rather  small  eyes  and  an  active,  energetic,  but  not 
nervous,  habit.  His  manner  is  alert  and  prompt,  but  not  grace- 
ful ;  his  voice  is  unmusical,  and  indeed  harsh  ;  his  enun- 
ciation is  very  clear,  but  somewhat  too  rapid,  andean  be  heard 
and  understood  in  every  part  of  the  Tabernacle  or  the  Rink. 
In  the  latter  place  he  has  spoken  to  7000  people.  He  gesticu- 
lates but  little,  and  his  gestures  are  evidently  extremely  un- 
studied. His  style  of  speaking  is  entirely  conversational,  and 
bearing  him  perhaps  a  dozen  times,I  have  never  detected  him  in 
any  attempt  at  eloquence.  He  is  evidently,  by  his  pronuncia- 
tion, a  Yankee,  clippmg  some  of  the  minor  words  in  his  sen- 
tences, as  the  farmers  in  the  interior  of  Massachusetts  do;  but 
he  has  no  ''  Yankee  drawl."  He  speaks  the  language  of  the 
people,  and  has  the  merit  of  using  always  the  commonest  words; 
and  that  he  had  no  early  educational  advantages  is  plain  from 
his  frequent  use  of  "  done  "  for  "  did  "  and  other  ungrammatical 
colloquialisms.  In  short,  his  appearance  is  not  imposing;  his 
figure  is  not  graceful,  but  that  of  a  farmer  or  hard-working 
laborer  ;  his  voice  is  not  melodious,  nor  has  it  a  great  range ; 
his  language  is  not  choice.  His  externals,  therefore,  are  all 
against  him. 

In  spite  of  all  these  disadvantages  he  has  succeeded  in  attract- 
ing in  England  and  here  vast  crowds  day  after  day,  which,  at 
some  of  the  Brooklyn  meetings  at  least,  are  composed  largely 
of  cultivated  people  ;  he  has,  evidently,  succeeded  in  interesting 
these  crowds  in  what  he  has  had  to  say  ;  for  nothing  is  more 
remarkable  af  the  meetings  than  the  absolute  quiet  and  order, 
the  attitude  of  interested  listeners,  which  prevails  among  the 
audience.     He  has  so  entirely  controlled  his  audiences  that  alJ 


236  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

noisy  manifestations  of  religious  feeling  have  been  entirely 
suppressed  ;  and  at  the  same  time  no  one  who  has  sat  in  the 
meetings  at  the  Rink  or  the  Tabernacle  can  have  failed  to  see 
that  Mr.  ?^Ioody's  manner  of  presenting  his  subject  is  to  an 
extraordinary  degree  effective  in  moving  the  hearts  of  his  hear- 
ers, in  stirring  devotional  feelings,  in  producing  a  profound 
impression  upon  them  of  the  importance  of  the  message  he  has 
to  deliver. 

Indeed,  it  has  ^Deen  a  common  remark  that  the  audiences 
were  even  more  remarkable  than  Mr.  Moody,  for  not  only  are 
they  spontaneous  gatherings  ;  to  some  of  the  meetings  admit- 
tance can  be  secured  only  by  the  presentation  of  a  ticket,  and 
these  ticket  meetings,  where  each  person  must  be  supposed  at 
least  to  have  had  a  desire  to  attend  strong  enough  to  induce 
him  to  take  the  trouble  of  securing  a  ticket,  are  as  crowded  as 
any  others.  Nor  are  conveni'^nt  hours  selected  for  the  meetings. 
There  is  one  from  eight  to  nine  in  the  morning,  which  yet  has 
seen  the  Tabernacle  filled  with  an  audience,  at  least  a  third  of 
whom  were  men.  There  it  another  at  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, and  again  not  less  than  a  third  of  those  present  have  been 
men.  After  the  Rink  meeting  in  the  evening  there  has  been 
held  a  meeting  in  the  Tabernacle  for  young  men  exclusively, 
beginning  at  nine  o'clock,  and  this,  too,  I  have  seen  crowded, 
the  large  auditorium  being  on  several  occasions  incapable  of 
holding  all  who  came.  Nor  is  this  all.  Not  the  least  remark- 
able evidence  of  the  real  and  profound  interest  excited  by  Mr. 
Moody's  exhortations  is  seen  in  what  are  happily  called  the 
''overflow  meetings,"  composed  of  persons  who  could  not 
gain  admission  to  the  rtigular  meetings  where  Mr.  Moody 
exhorts  and  Mr.  Sankey  sings,  and  who  adjourn  to  a  neighbor- 
ing church  to  listen  to  some  other  preacher  and  to  sing  the 
songs  which  Mr.  Sankey  has  made  familiar  to  them.  If  any 
considerable  part  cf  the  crowds  who  go  to  the  meetings  were 
con)poscd  of  the  merely  curious  these  "overflow  meetings" 
could  not  exist. 

Nor  is  evjn  this  all.  Mr.  Moody  does  not  hesitate  to  advise 
people  to  stay  away  from  his  meetings.     He   has   repeatedly 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


237 


urged  that  his  labors  are  for  non-church  goers  ;  that  he  desires 
room  left  for  this  class,  and  he  has  taken  special  means  to 
exclude  from  some  of  his  meetings  all  who  regulaily  attend  a 
church — that  is  to  sa}*,  he  does  not  court  his  audiences,  but 
the  contrary.  If  you  go  to  hear  him  it  must  be  because  you  want 
to;  if  you  go  the  second  time  it  must  be  because  he  interested 
you  the  first. 

1  have  heard  him  a  number  of  times,  and  always  with  interest 
and  gratification  ;  and  it  seems  to  me  that  this  arose  mainly — 
aside  from  the  interest  which  any  thoughtful  man  may  have  in 
this  subject — because  he  gives  the  impression  of  possessing 
remarkable  common  sense,  the  clear  head  of  a  business  man, 
and  a  habit  of  attending  to  the  one  thing  which  he  has  on 
♦hand  and  making  all  parts  of  the  audience  do  the  same.  The 
meetings  are  opened  and  closed  promptly  at  the  preappointed 
hour  ;  there  is  not  even  a  minute  of  time  lost  during  the  meet- 
ing by  delays ;  his  own  prayers  are  brief,  very  earnest,  and 
directly  to  the  point  ;  and  his  exhortations  are  a  running  co  n- 
mentary  on  passages  of  Scripture  which  he  reads  rapidly, 
always  asking  the  audience  to  turn  to  the  passage.  Indeed,  so 
far  as  Mr.  Moody  is  concerned,  there  is  little  or  no  "  machin- 
ery." He  opens  a  meeting  as  though  his  audience  were  the 
stockholders  of  a  bank  to  whom  he  was  about  to  make  a 
report.  He  has  the  air  of  a  business  man  to  whom  time  is 
extremely  valuable,  and  slow  and  tedious  people  are  evidently 
a  trial  to  him.  In  some  of  the  prayer  meetings  persons  in  the 
audience  take  an  active  part ;  and  it  happened  not  seldom  in 
those  that  I  attended  that  some  earnest  but  indiscreet  soul 
made  a  long  and  rambling  prayer.  Mr.  Moody  knev*'  how  to 
bring  back  the  assembly  to  the  strict  object  of  the  hour.  In 
one  of  the  morning  meetings  a  clergyman  made  a  very  long, 
loud,  and  rambling  prayer,  full  of  set  and  stale  phraseology. 
The  moment  he  ceased  Mr.  Moody  said,  "  Let  us  now  have  a 
few  minutes  of  silent  prayer  ;  that  will  bring  us  back  to  our- 
selves, and  that's  where  we  need  to  get."'  After  a  brief  but 
impressive  silence  Mr.  Sankey  spoke  a  few  words — pertinent, 
pointed,  and  fu-rcible — of  prayer,  and  the  meeting  proceeded 


238  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

I  hope  I  shall  not  be  thought  disrespectful  to  the  clergy  if  I 
say  that  the  prayers  some  of  them  speak  at  these  meetings 
contrast  unfavorably  with  the  brief  and  pertinent  petitions  of 
Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey.  The  formal  and  thread-bare 
phraseology  of  the  former  is  strikingly  inappropriate  in  such 
meetings  as  these,  and  seemed  to  me  often  to  jar  painfully  on 
the  feelings  of  the  people  around  me. 

Again,  in  one  of  the  morning  meetings  prayers  were  asked 
by  various  individuals  in  the  audience  for  people  in  whom 
they  are  interested.  One  asked  the  prayers  of  the  assembly 
for  his  sister;  another  for  her  brother;  one  for  her  mother; 
sons  for  fathers  ;  fathers  for  sons  and  daughters  ;  wives  for 
husbands  ;  one  for  a  church  out  of  town  ;  another  for  a  church 
in  New  York.  Finally  a  man  shyly  asked  the  prayers  of  the 
congregation  for  himself.  Instantly  Mr.  Moody  said,  "That's 
right.  I  like  that.  I  like  to  hear  people  ask  prayers  for  them- 
selves. That's  where  they  are  often  most  needed."  Such  an 
incident  seems  to  me  to  show  that  he  is  not  an  enthusiast  who 
has  lost  his  self-possession  ;  and  indeed  this  is  evident  at 
every  meeting.  He  is,  of  course,  enthusiastic  in  his  work, 
but  with  the  sobriety  of  a  business  man  or  of  a  general 
in  battle. 

Again,  he  is  never  in  the  least  afraid  of  his  audience.  lu' 
deed,  no  one  can  hear  him  without  feeling  that  he  is  entirely 
unconscious,  as  much  so  as  a  child.  His  own  personality  does 
not  trouble  him.  Thus  at  the  Rink  one  evening,  while  impress- 
ing upon  the  assemblage  the  importance  of  immediate  conver- 
sion, he  said  :  *'  I  wish  that  friend  over  there  would  just  wake 
up,  and  ril  tell  him  something  which  is  important  to  him." 
And  again,  at  another  meeting,  he  said  :  "  Salvation  is  offered 
to  every  man  in  this  Rink,  now,  to-night,  at  this  very  moment ; 
(o  that  man  there,  who  is  laughing  and  jeering — the  Son  of 
Man  comes  to  him  to-night  and  offers  salvation." 

Though  he  aims  lo  reach  more  particularly  the  non-church- 
going  population,  he  concerns  himself  also  about  church  goers. 
"  The  churches,"  he  said  on  one  occasion,  "need  awakening; 
it  is  too  e.isy  now   to   be  a  church  member.     If  you  pay  youi 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  239 

debts  and  keep  out  of  jail,  that  seems  to  be  enough."  At  a 
meeting  for  youn<;  men,  held  at  nine  o'clock  p.  M.  in  the  Taber- 
nacle, he  said,  "  You  don't  need  that  I  should  preach  to  you. 
There  is  too  much  preaching.  It's  preach,  preach,  preach,  all 
the  time;  and  you,  young  men,  have  heard  sermons  enough 
here  in  Brooklyn  to  convert  every  one  of  you.  What  you  need 
is  to  work  among  yourselves.  Let  the  converted  speak  personally 
with  the  unconverted — friend  to  friend.    Then  you'll  see/esulls." 

He  has  a  good  deal  of  dramatic  power,  and  sometimes  is  very 
effective  in  a  natural  but  strong  appeal  or  statement.  "  When 
the  prisoners  at  Philippi  with  Paul  cried  Amen,"  he  said,  "  God 
himself  answered  them  Amen  1  "  Speaking  of  the  probability 
that  we  forget  none  of  the  events  of  our  lives,  and  that  this  is, 
perhaps,  to  be  a  means  of  punishment  in  a  future  state,  he  pic- 
tured an  unrepentant  sinner  awakening  in  the  other  world,  and 
his  misdeeds  coming  back  upon  him.  "  Tramp  !  tramp  I  tramp  ! 
tramp  I  "  he  said,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word.  "Do  you 
think  that  Judas,  after  nearly  1,900  years,  has  forgotten  that  he 
betrayed  his  Saviour  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver  ?  Do  you  think 
that  Cain,  after  5,000  years,  has  forgotten  the  pleading  look  of 
his  brother  Able  when  he  slew  him  ?  "  he  continued.  In  speak- 
ing of  Bible  incidents  or  parables  he  usually  brings  them  in  a 
dramatic  form— as  when  he  remarked,  '•  If  I  want  to  know  about 
some  man  in  Brooklyn  I  don't  ask  only  his  enemies,  nor  only 
his  friends,  but  both.  Let  us  ask  about  Christ  in  this  way.  I 
call  first  Pilate's  wife  " — and  relating  her  warning  to  Pilate  went 
on  to  call  other  witnesses  to  the  character  and  works  of  Jesus. 

He  has  m.ide  an  extremely  close  study  of  the  Bible,  and  is 
evidently  that  formidable  being,  a  man  of  one  book,  and  thus 
he  is  able  to  give  often  a  novel  view  of  a  Bible  passage.  Thus, 
speaking  of  Jacob,  he  remarked  that  his  life  was  a  failure; 
pointed  out  that  Jacob  himself  had  complained  of  it,  and  enu- 
merated his  tribulations,  which  followed  his  misdeeds.  He 
enforced  upon  the  audience  the  necessity  of  reading  the  Bible 
biographies  not  as  though  they  were  the  lives  of  sainls.  but  the 
truthfully  written  lives  of  mortal  men,  in  which  their  bad  as  well 
as  their  good  deeds  were  set  forth  for  our  instruction. 


240  MOODY    AND    SAX  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

He  has  in  perfection  that  faculty  of  epigrammatic  statement 
which  one  often  finds  among  the  farmers  and  laboring  people 
of  New  England,  and  this  has  sometimes  the  effect  of  humor. 
Thus,  preaching  at  the  Rink  from  the  text,  "Where  the  treasure 
is,  there  the  heart  will  be  also,"  he  remarked:  "If  you  find  a 
man's  household  goods  on  a  freight  train,  you  may  be  pretty 
sure  to  find  him  on  the  next  passenger  train."  On  anollier 
occasion  he  told  of  a  woman  who  came  to  him  saying  that  she 
had  sought  Christ  without  avail.  "  I  told  her  there  must  be  some 
mistake  about  this,  because  an  anxious  sinfier  and  an  anxious 
Saviour  could  not  need  three  years  to  find  each  other."  Speak- 
ing of  persons  who  were  ambitious  to  make  themselves  promi- 
nent, he  remarked  :  "  It  does  not  say,  make  your  light  shine,  but 
let  your  light  shine.  You  can't  make  a  light  shine.  If  it  is 
really  a  light  it  will  shine  in  spite  of  you — only  don't  hide  it 
under  a  bushel.  Let  it  shine.  Confess  Christ  everywhere." 
*'  Satan  got  his  match  when  he  came  across  John  Bunyan,"  he 
remarked.  "  He  thought  he  had  done  a  shrewd  thing  when  he 
got  the  poor  tinker  stuck  into  Bedford  Jail,  but  that  was  one  of 
his  blunders.  It  was  there  that  Bunyan  wrote  the  '  Pilgrim's 
Progress,'  and  no  doubt  he  was  more  thankful  for  the  imprison- 
ment than  for  anything  else  in  his  life." 

Speaking  of  the  izoodness  of  God  and  of  "grace  abounding,*' 
he  told  a  striking  story  of  a  rich  man  who  sent  to  a  poor  friend 
in  distress  $25  in  an  envelope,  on  which  he  wrote,  '"  More  to 
follow."  "  Now,"  said  he,  '•  which  was  the  more  welcome— the 
money  or  the  gracious  promise  of  further  help  ?  So  it  is  with 
God's  grace  ;  there  is  always  more  to  follow.  Let  us  thank 
God,  not  only  for  what  he  gives  us,  but  for  what  he  promises — 
more  to  follow."  Contrasting  the  law  and  the  Gospel,  he  said. 
"Moses,  in  Egypt,  turned  water  into  blood,  which  is  death. 
Christ  turned  water  into  wine,  which  is  life,  joy,  and  gladness." 
Speaking  of  future  punishment  in  one  of  his  Rink  sermons,  he 
said,  "God  will  not  punish  us.  \\'e  shall  punish  ourselves. 
When  we  come  before  God  He  will  turn  us  over  to  ourselves. 
Go  and  read  the  book  of  your  memory,  He  will  say."  Urging 
the  duty  of  immediate  repentance  and  the  joy  in  heaven  over  a 


MOODY    ANIJ    SAXKKY    IN    AMERICA  24I 

repentant  sinner,  he  said,  "If  the  President  should  die  to-night, 
or  if  the  Governor  of  the  State  should  be  shot,  that  would  make 
an  outcry  here.  But  perhaps  even  so  great  an  event  would  not 
be  mentioned  in  heaven  at  all.  But,"  said  he,  raising  his  voice 
a  little,  "if  some  sinner  in  this  assembly  were  just  now  con- 
verted, there  would  be  a  great  shout  of  joy  in  heaven."  Dwell- 
ing upon  the  certainty  of  future  punishment,  he  remarked. 
*'  Some  people  doubt  it ;  they  think  God  is  so  loving  that  He 
will  make  no  distinctions  in  another  world.  But  do  you 
imagine  that  when  men  had  become  so  wicked  that  God  sent  a 
flood  to  exterminate  them  because  they  were  not  fit  to  live  on 
earth — do  you  suppose  that  when  the  waters  came  and  drowned 
them,  He  took  all  this  wicked  generation  into  his  bosom  and 
left  pool  righteous  Noah  to  drift  about  in  his  ark  ?  Do  you 
suppose  that  when  His  chosen  people  crossed  the  Red  Sea, 
and  Pharaoh's  host  were  drowned,  God  took  those  idolatrous 
Egyptians  directly  to  heaven  and  let  the  children  of  Israel 
wander  miserably  over  the  desert  for  forty  years  ? " 

Speaking  of  the  real  objects  to  be  attained  by  prayer,  he  said, 
"  If  you  have  a  thorn  in  your  foot,  you  are  to  pray,  not  that 
God  shall  relieve  you  of  the  physical  pain — He  can  do  that 
too — but  what  you  are  to  ask  Him  for  is  grace  and  strength 
to  bear  the  pain  patiently.  We  should  thank  God  for  our  trib- 
ulations ;  they  are  sent  to  us  as  blessings  ;  they  bring  us  to 
Him."  Again,  "  Many  things  we  want  God  knows  are  not  good 
for  us ;  if  He  gives  them  it  is  that  we  may  learn  through  suffer- 
ing ;  if  He  withholds  them  it  is  because  He  loves  us.''  Again 
he  said,  "  Suppose  a  man  going  from  here  to  Chicago,  who  knows 
me  and  my  wife.  When  he  gets  there  he  goes  to  see  her, 
and  he  says,  *  I  saw  Mr.  Moody  in  Brooklyn.'  And  then,  when 
she  is  naturally  anxious  to  hear  all  about  me,  suppose  he  goes 
on  to  speak  about  himself,  to  tell  her  how  he  felt  on  the  cars 
and  where  he  stopped,  and  what  he  said  and  did  and  ate. 
Would  not  she  presently  tell  him  that  it  was  not  him  she 
wanted  to  hear  about,  but  me.?"  Nor  is  he  backward  in  im- 
pressing upon  those  who  listen  to  him  their  own  responsibility. 
*'  People  attending  these  meetings  during  these  two  weeks,"  be 
II 


242  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

said,  "will  be  either  better  or  worse.  They  will  not  go  away 
the  same  men  and  women.  If  I  did  not  want  to  be  a  Christian 
do  you  think  I  would  ever  go  where  the  Gospel  is  preached  ? 
If  any  of  you  have  made  up  your  minds  not  to  be  Christians  I 
advise  you  to  get  up  and  go  out  at  once.  It  is  not  safe  for  you 
^o  be  here.'' 

I  do  not  know  whether  these  passages  which  I  have  given 
from  Mr.  Moody's  exhortations  will  seem  to  those  who  read 
them  as  forcible  as  they  were  to  me  who  heard  them.  I  took 
down  at  the  time  what  appeared  to  me  his  most  striking  utter- 
ances, as  the  best  way  of  showing  wherein  his  power  over  his 
audiences  consists.  That  he  is  a  man  of  genuine  power  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  He  has  gathered,  and  held  in  silent  attention, 
and  deeply  moved,  some  of  the  largest  assemblies  that  any 
speaker  has  addressed  in  America  ;  at  least  in  our  day.  For 
my  part  I  do  not  doubt  that  his  words  have  left  a  lasting  im- 
pression upon  a  great  many  men  and  women.  And  he  has  done 
this  without  frantic  or  passionate  appeals  ;  without  the  least  of 
what  we  commonly  call  eloquence.  He  has  none  of  the  vehe- 
mence of  Peter  Cartvvright  or  Elder  Knapp,  and  he  possesses 
none  of  the  personal  advantages  or  culture  of  an  orator.  Instead 
of  all  these  he  has  a  profound  conviction  of  the  reality  of  the 
future  life  ;  a  just  idea  of  its  importance  compared  with  this 
life  and  of  the  relations  of  the  two,  and  an  unhesitating  belief 
in  the  literal  truth  of  the  Bible.  It  is,  of  course,  his  own  deep 
and  earnest  conviction  which  enables  him  to  impress  others. 

Mr.  Sankey  has  an  effective  voice,  a  clear  pronunciation; 
and,  I  should  think,  a  quick  ear  to  catch  simple  and  tendei 
melodies.  His  singing  was,  I  suspect,  more  effective  and 
affecting  in  England  than  here,  because  the  hymns  he  sings 
were  not  as  familiar  to  his  English  hearers  as  they  are  to 
Americans,  most  of  whom  have  been  brought  up  in  Sunday 
schools,  or  have  heard  their  children  sing  their  Sunday-school 
hymns  at  home.  He  is  evidently  a  favorite  with  the  Rink  and 
Tabernacle  audiences,  and  he  has  a  pathetic  and  sympathetic 
voice.  I'urt  to  me  the  main  figure  is  Mr.  Moody.  Of  course  a 
daily  p.^jcr  is  not  the  place  in  which  to  discuss  his  theology. 


Gv. 


MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  243 


even  if  I  desired  to  do  so.  Those  to  whom  his  creed  is  false  or 
offensive  need  not  go  to  hear  him.  But  as  to  the  general  ten- 
dency and  usefulness  of  his  work,  it  seems  to  me  clear  that  if 
there  is  a  future  life,  it  is  useful  to  have  it  and  its  relations  to 
the  present  life  sometimes  brought  vividly  before  men  and 
women  actively  and  anxiously  engaged  in  the  daily  struggle  for 
bread.  Mr.  Moody  addresses  himself  to  a  multitude  thus  ab- 
sorbed ;  his  exhortations  raise  them  for  a  timeout  of  themselves, 
out  of  sordid  cares  and  engrossing  pursuits,  and  present  to  them 
in  a  vivid,  epigrammatic,  often  pathetic,  always  simple  and  nat- 
ural way,  the  greatest  questions  and  interests  which  can  be 
brought  to  the  consideration  of  a  being  gifted  with  immortal  life. 
It  is  surely  a  great  merit  to  do  this,  and  to  do  it  as  these  "evan- 
gelists" doit — calmly,  without  mere  passionate  appeals,  without 
efforts  to  capture  the  imagination  of  their  hearers,  and  without 
noisy  or  disorderly  demonstrations  among  their  hearers. 

Turning,  now,  from  this  thorough  and  just  estimate  of  these 
men  to  the  results  of  their  labors,  we  find  many  incidents  of 
thrilling  interest.  The  requests  for  prayer  at  the  morning 
prayer-meetings  revealed  the  universal  awakening  that  has  seized 
upon  the  whole  people;  and  they  also  exposed  the  pitifulness 
of  our  human  condition,  by  unveiling  the  vast  variety  of  needs 
pressing  on  the  hearts  of  myriads  of  sufferers.  Says  one 
report  : 

The  requests  for  prayers  exceeded  in  number  those  of  any 
previous  day.  There  were  twenty-five  for  cities  and  towns, 
twenty-seven  for  revivals  in  churches  ;  one  for  the  evangelists 
now  laboring  in  Minnesota,  one  for  the  Oswego  State  Normal 
School,  one  for  a  young  ladies'  boarding  school  ;  eight  for 
Sunday-school  classes ;  six  for  Sunday-schools  ;  four  clergymen 
for  themselves  ;  seventeen  for  drunkards  ;  and  four  hundied 
and  forty-seven  for  different  persons,  many  being  from  parents' 
for  wayward  sons  and  daughters,  and  from  wives  for  their  hus- 
bands.    Mr.  Moody  then  offered  prayer. 

Mr.  E.  W.  Hawley  then  read  requests  as  follows,  all  heads 
being  bowed  in  silent  prayer  during  the  reading.  Requests  for  a 
sceptic  88  years  of  age,  who  will  not  hear  of  Jesus;  for  a  father, 


244  MOODY   AND   SAN  KEY   IN   AMERICA. 

three  sons  and  a  daughter  ;  for  a  daughter,  father  and  mother  sixty 
years  of  age  ;  for  four  sons  and  one  daughter ;  for  two  young  men 
yesterday  in  the  meeting  in  the  church  ;  for  a  young  lady  who  is 
a  backslider;  for  a  mother  who  is  sick  ;  for  a  daughter  and  son  ; 
for  a  wife,  husband  and  three  daughters  ;  for  a  sister  and  three 
brothers  ;  for  a  person  sick,  that  he  may  be  kept  from  tempta- 
tion and  doubt  ;  for  a  young  man,  an  ^only  son  ;  for  a  sick 
mother  ;  for  a  brother  that  he  may  be  restored  to  health  ;  two 
requests  for  backsliders ;  for  a  person  very  sick,  that  he  may 
be  kept  from  temptation  and  doubt ;  for  a  young  man,  an  only 
son  ;  for  an  organized  band  of  praying  young  men  ;  a  father  for 
himself  and  six  of  his  family  ;  a  wife  for  a  husband  given  to 
strong  drink  ;  four  requests  for  church  members  who  have  an 
appetite  for  strong  drink  ;  three  requests  for  an  aged  mother ; 
for  a  friend  in  danger  through  strong  drink  ;  three  requests  for 
husbands  and  wives  ;  four  requests  for  unconverted  husbands  ; 
two  requests  of  mothers  for  htalth  of  their  sons ;  for  one  who 
feels  if  she  delays  longer  she  will  be  shut  out  from  God's 
grace ;  a  widow  for  six  children  ;  for  a  husband  and  father  bit- 
terly opposed  to  attending  church  ;.  for  sixteen  young  men  by 
class-leader  ;  a  request  for  wives  given  up  to  the  intoxicating 
cup  ;  four  requests  for  fathers  from  sons  ;  one  for  a  nephew  ;  a 
father  and  mother  for  seven  sons,  two  of  them  intemperate. 

The  reports  brought  into  the  morning  meetings  indicated  the 
immediate  results  of  the  work:  A  woman  came  into  the  inquiry 
metjtings  broken  hearted.  She  was  a  wife  and  a  mother. 
After  she  had  laid  hold  on  Christ  herself,  she  wanted  us  to 
pray  for  her  husband  and  children  Last  evening  she  came  in, 
leading  that  husband  by  the  hand.  'JMiat  man  got  up  and  said 
he  would  accept  Christ.  This  m.other,  six  months  ago,  received 
a  letter  from  her  mother  in  England,  asking  that  when  our 
American  friends  (Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey)  came  to 
America,  they  would  come  to  their  meetings.  Another  letter 
was  received  from  Scotland  by  an  infidel  from  his  mother.  He 
last  night  came  to  llie  inquiry  meeting.  I  talked  with  liim 
He  had  a  fearful  st!ugL;le.  He  was  a  civil  engineer.  For  a 
good  many  years  he  had  roamed  around  the  world,  preaching 


MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  245 

against  Christ.  He  did  not  believe  that  he  preached.  It  was 
the  devil  in  him.  He  was  on  a  vessel  in  a  storm,  and  as  they 
thought  the  ship  was  going  down,  he,  like  a  poor  coward,  ftll 
on  his  knees  in  prayer.  But  after  the  storm  he  forgot  it.  For 
the  last  two  days  this  man  has  been  in  terrible  agony.  He 
said :  '•'  I  am  in  terror  ;  my  heart  is  broken.  I'll  lay  down 
the  weapons  of  my  rebellion.  I'll  write  to  my  mother  in  Scot- 
land about  it  to-morrow."     Keep  on  praying. 

At  the  inquiry  meeting  there  were  two  or  three  hundred 
seekers,  many  of  them  youths  of  from  twelve  to  sixteen  years 
of  age. 

A  curious  scene  was  observed  at  the  entrance  of  the  chapel 
of  the  Simpson  M.  E.  Church.  A  man  and  woman  of  middle 
age  and  well  dressed,  coming  down  VVilloughby  avenue  vv^ith 
the  throng  after  the  services  in  the  Rink,  stopped  at  the 
gateway  in  front  of  the  chapel.  After  a  moment  of  hurried, 
earnest  conversation,  the  man  stepped  backward  away  from  the 
woman  toward  the  chapel  steps,  all  the  time  looking  reproach- 
fully at  her.  He  mounted  the  steps  and  was  about  to  cross  the 
threshold  when  the  woman  stepped  quickly  forward  and,  putting 
her  face  between  the,  iron  bars  of  the  fence,  said,  in  troubled 
tones :  "  I  will  not  go  in  that  place  ;  you  shall  not ;  come  away 
at  once."     She  walked  hurriedly  away  and  the  man  followed. 

Yesterday,  at  our  Sunday-school,  in  place  of  the  usual 
closing  exercises,  we  invited  the  scholars  to  remain  for  a  prayer- 
meeting.  Five  hundred  remained.  Twenty  rose  and  asked  for 
prayers,  and  seven,  we  think,  found  peace  in  believing.  Last 
evening  at  the  Rink  very  many  souls  were  brought  to  Christ. 
In  the  inquiry-room  it  seemed  as  if  all  on  each  side  of  me  were 
anxious  to  fifid  Christ.  Going  home  last  night,  as  I  walked 
down  the  street,  I  talked  with  three  young  men.— one  of  them 
was  anxious,  but  hesitated.  I  said  to  him,  "  You  can  be  con- 
verted before  you  reach  yonder  lamp-post,  if  you  will."  When 
within  twelve  feet  of  it  he  stopped  still,  and  after  a  struggle  said, 
"  I  will,"  with  intense  feeling.  I  turned  to  his  companion,  and 
after  a  struggle  he  said,  "  Yes,  I  too."  The  third  companion 
stiil  lemained.     We  knelt  down  with  him  around  the  lamp  post. 


246  MOODY   AND   SANKEV    IN    AMERICA. 

and  after  a  prayer  he  accepted  Christ.     The  presence  of  God 
Was  felt  in  this  city  yesterday.     Thanks  be  to  His  Holy  name. 

A  man  in  the  gallery  said  he  wanted  to  say  a  .word  of  en- 
couragement. In  the  Rink  a  man  sat  before  him,  singing  with 
a  strong  voice — a  fine  looking  gentleman.  Something  said  to 
me :  "  I  must  speak  to  that  man.  It  was  an  effort.  With 
trembling  voice  I  said :  "  Are  you  a  Christian  ?  "  "  No  ;  I  can't 
Bay  I  am."  I  asked  him  to  go  to  the  inquiry-room.  He  said 
*'No  ;  it  is  to  conspicuous."  I  said,  "  I'll  go  with  you  ;  people 
won't  know  which  of  us  is  a  sinner."  He  said,  "Perhaps, 
presently."  I  said,  a  few  moments  after,  "  Presently  has  come." 
He  went  with  me,  sat  down  and  talked  with  me,  and  in  one 
half-hour  had  given  himself  definitely  to  Christ. 

Last  night  at  the  Rink  I  went  to  get  a  lady  to  come  to  the 
inquiry-room.  I  sent  a  lady  to  go  for  her  daughter.  She  said, 
"  I  can't  leave  here  at  present."  The  lady  who  went  for  the 
daughter  said,  at  the  close  of  the  Rink  meeting,  she  felt  so  im- 
pressed that  she  must  pray  for  some  one  who  would  not  come 
to  the  inquiry-meeting.  She  rose  up  and  prayed  in  the  body  of 
that  church.  Pretty  soon  the  daughter  came  running  into  the 
church,  almost  out  of  breath,  and  said,  "Your  prayer  has 
reached  me.  Nothing  had  ever  reached  me  before  your  prayer." 
The  mother  also  said,  "Your  prayer  saved  me  ;"  and  they  sat 
down  there  and  all  were  blessed  together. 

A  man  rose  and  related  the  conversion  of  a  soldier  with  an 
empty  sleeve,  and  a  badge  on  his  breast,  revealing  the  shat-' 
tered  remnant  of  a  noble  man.  His  parents  were  members  of 
the  Reformed  Church  of  Kinderhook.  He  came  out  of  the 
army  a  drunkard.  His  wife  and  children  returned  from 
Sunday-school  one  day,  and  his  little  girl  said  to  bim,  "  Jesus 
loves  you."  He  pushed  her  away  in  anger,  and  rushed  out  to 
a  drinking  saloon  to  drink.  Just  as  he  was  putting  ihe  glass 
to  his  lips,  a  little  girl  rose,  as  if  in  a  mirror,  before  him,  and 
he  seemed  to  hear  ringing  in  his  ears,  "  Father,  Jesus  loves 
you."  He  dropped  the  glass,  and  rushed  out,  and  walked  the 
streets  all  night  in  agony.  He  went  home  and  said  to  his 
wife,  "Betsy,  I  waat  you  to  pray  for  mc."     This  man  is  now 


MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


247 


laboring  every  day  in  Water  street,  New  York,  trying  to  save 
the  lost  drunkards  there,  without  pay  for  his  service. 

Mr.  Moody  then  related,  in  closing,  a  very  affecting  incident 
of  the  reconciliation  of  a  prodigal  son  and  stern  father  at  the 
bedside  of  a  dying  mother,  whose  last  act  in  expiring  was  to 
place  their  hands  in  each  other's  clasp.  The  story  was  so  feel- 
ingly told  that  a  spell  of  suppressed  emotion  seemed  to  sway 
the  vast  audience,  and  when  Mr.  Moody  said,  "  Let  us  pray," 
while  the  people  were  silently  communing,  Mr.  Sankey's  voice 
plaintively  breathed  forth,  "  Come  home,  prodigal  child."  The 
spell  was  broken,  and  there  was  a  wail  of  passionate  weeping  ; 
the  grief  of  the  young  man  particularly,  who  sat  near  the  plat- 
form, becoming  almost  uncontrollable.  Mr.  Moody  noticed 
this  at  once,  and  checked  the  excitement  by  stopping  Mr. 
Sankey  at  the  end  of  the  first  verse,  asking  the  audience  to  rise 
and  sing,  "  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood." 

The  self-restraint  and  the  genuineness  of  Mr.  Moody's  work 
was  never  more  signally  displayed  than  in  this  slight  circum- 
stance. He  might  have  allowed  the  excitement  to  have  swept 
on  till  it  became  a  religious  frenzy,  which  would  have  been 
the  case  in  a  few  minutes,  and  many  mistaken  religious  leaders 
would  have  done  so  for  the  mere  gratification  of  their  own  love 
of  excitement.  But  Mr.  Moody,  realizing  that  mere  excite- 
ment is  not  healthy,  checked  it,  while  that  was  possible,  leav- 
ing to  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  the  completion  of  the 
work  which  had  evidently  commenced  in  many  hearts. 

Rev.  Mr.  Dixon,  a  colored  minister,  of  Concord  .Street 
Baptist  Church,  said  Friday  morning  the  Lord  touched  him  in 
the  Rink,  while  Mr.  Moody  was  preaching  about  Daniel,  and 
hu  got  up  and  ran  home  to  his  closet,  and  he  was  obliged  now 
to  ask  the  Lord  to  stay  his  hand,  he  was  so  full  of  the  joy  of 
the  Lord. 

The  brother  of  Orville  Gardner  arose  and  said  that  Orville 
said  to  him,  "  Though  I  am  a  cripple  and  cannot  walk,  go  and 
fight  for  Jesus."  God  is  in  Brooklyn  and  He  will  shake  this 
place  from  top  to  bottom  if  we  only  trust  in  Him. 

Rev.   Mr.  Murray  related  the  conversion  of  a  man  of  intellect 


2:^8  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.. 

and  character  and  a  very  dear  friend,  who  was  addicted  to 
strong  drink.  I'he  speaker  invited  him  to  go  to  the  Rink 
meeting  to  hear  Mr.  Moody.  He  said:  "I'll  do  it  for  your 
sake."  He  went  and  God  touched  his  heart.  On  his  way  home 
he  resolved  he  would  crush  his  appetite  and  curb  his  profanity, 
and  set  up  his  family  altar  there  for  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  his  fiimily.  He  met  me  the  next  day,  and  embraced  me  with 
tears  of  thankfulness  that  I  asked  him  to  go  to  the  Rink  meet- 
ing. We  don't  know  what  results  come  from  little  things.  He 
asked  me  to  come  here  this  morning  and  ask  you  to  bear  him 
up  in  your  prayers. 

A  young  man  in  terrible  agony  and  tears  said  he  wanted  to 
find  Jesus.  We  told  him  how  the  best  we  could.  He  left  the 
place  gready  relieved.  The  next  night  he  came  to  the  plat- 
form with  his  face  shining  with  joy.  He  went  for  his  younger 
brother,  and  he  was  the  next  day  rejoicing  in  Christ.  Another 
young  man  came  to  the  meeting  at  the  Rink,  and  could  not  get 
in.  He  wandered  around  and  went  to  the  Dutch  Church  ad- 
joining, which  was  empty.  About  nine  o'clock  the  young  man 
came  into  the  young  men's  meeting  and  I  prevailed  on  him  to 
stay.  That  night  God  spoke  to  his  conscience.  He  did  not 
believe  in  anything.  He  went  away  saying  that  he  would  pray 
for  himself.  The  next  night  he  came  and  said,  "  Pray  for  me." 
Last  Thursday  morning,  you  may  remember,  I  made  a  request 
for  a  young  lady  sick  of  consumption,  asking  that  her  pains 
1  light  be  relieved.  God  told  me  to  rise  that  morning  and  make 
request,  which  I  did.*"  Friday  morning  her  pains  left  her.  She 
rose  from  her  bed,  made  her  little  bequests  of  mone>  and  gifts 
to  benevolent  objects  and  friends.  She  sat  up  on  her  couch 
all  through  the  evening,  talking,  with  her  mind  perfectly  clear. 
Pretty  soon  her  senses  left  her,  one  by  one.  She  says,  "  It  is 
nil  dark  now.  I  can't  see,  but  it  is  all  bright  over  there." 
Pretty  soon  she  said  :  "I  can't  hear  now.  But  Christ  is  here, 
all  here ;  doubts  are  gone."  At  1.30  a.  m.,  Sunday  morning 
she  went  to  her  rest.  That  prayer  last  Thursday  morning  for 
this  sick  young  lady  was  answered.  All  through  the  last  week 
I  was  praying  for  my  own  son,  eighteen  years   old,  m)    son 


MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  249 

Walter.  He  attended  meetings  at  the  Rink  several  times  with- 
out much  feeling,  He  last  night  came  out  of  the  inquiry  room 
svith  brother  Sankey,  relying  on  Jesus. 

In  the  Simpson  Church  occurred  a  number  of  singular  scenes. 
Inquirers  and  all  who  desired  entrance  were  first  directed  into 
the  main  auditorium.  A  continuous  stream  of  people  poured 
in  from  all  entrances,  front  and  rear.  Mr.  Moody  took  charge 
of  the  meeting,  and  while  the  throng  were  crowding  in,  a  num- 
ber of  hymns  were  sung.  When  the  church  was  thoroughly  full, 
Mr.  Moody  asked  those  who  were  inquirers  and  who  were  really 
in  earnest  about  their  salvation  to  pass  into  the  inquiry  room 
while  the  audience  sang,  "Just  as  I  Am."  Immediately  the  sing- 
ing commenced,  two  long  processions  filed  through  the  two 
doors  into  the  chapel.  They  were  composed  principally  of 
young  men.  After  the  inquirers  had  retired,  Mr.  Moody  asked 
all  who  were  Christians  to  rise.  Very  few  were  left  sitting. 
While  a  hymn  was  sung,  he  went  down  an  aisle  and  spoke  to  a 
few  of  these,  and  then  after  leaving  the  meeting,  to  continue  as 
a  prayer  meeting,  went  into  the  inquiry  room.  The  number 
of  inquirers  dealt  with  was  estimated  to  be  from  a  hundred 
to  a  hundred  and  fifty.  A  number  of  Mr.  Moody's  Christian 
helpers  dealt  with  many  of  these.  About  fifty  gathered  about 
Mr.  Moody  himself,  to  whom  he  made  plain  the  way  of  life. 
Among  his  coadjutors  at  present  is  Mr.  Needham,  the  well 
known  Irish  evangelist.  Mr.  Needham,  as  we  announced,  was 
to  have  sailed  on  the  Spain  on  Saturday  for  Europe.  His 
family  were  placed  on  board,  and  everything  had  been  prepared 
for  travelling,  when  about  noon  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  McWil- 
liams  came  to  endeavor  to  persuade  him  to  remain  and  assist 
the  Brooklyn  work,  He  took  two  hours  to  pray  about  it,  and 
concluded  to  stay.  His  visit  abroad  is  therefore  indefinitely 
postponed,  perhaps  until  next  summer.  He  has  now  no  plans 
for  the  future,  and  will  simply  follow  divine  guidance.  He  will 
take  charge  of  one  of  the  overflow  meetings,  and  in  other  ways 
aid  Mr.  Moody. 

The    Christian    workeis    present   last   night   were  jubilant 
One  word  was  on  many  a  tongue — "  It's  grand."     An  old  gen^ 


250  MOODY   AND   SANKEY   IN   AMERICA. 

tleman  said :  "  The  ice  is  broken."  Dr.  Duryea  says  a  young 
man  of  his  acquaintance,  of  very  fine  culture  and  wide  reading, 
came  to  him,  took  his  hand,  and  said  :  "  Doctor,  I'm  going." 
He  was  the  first  to  rise  in  the  main  auditorium  when  Mr.  Moody 
called  upon  inquirers.  He  had  read  German  writers  .on  meta- 
physics, and  become  befogged  and  verging  on  Universalism,but 
Mr.  Moody's  sermon  went  home,  and  broke  sunlight  through  the 
vapor  and  mystification  in  his  mind.  Cheering  instances  like 
these  occur  and  attest  the  force  of  divine  truth,  while  they  uplift 
the  courage  of  Christian  laborers. 

Many  people  ask,  "  How  many  people  have  been  converted 
by  the  special  services  that  are  being  held?" and  they  want  to 
measure  the  good  done  by  an  arithmetical  calculation.  So 
many  sermons  preached,  so  many  prayers  offered,  so  many 
hymns  sung,  so  many  people  gathered  at  the  services,  and  so 
many  converted,  is  the  rule  which  some  who  do  not  understand 
the  nature  of  religious  work  seek  to  apply.  The  number  of 
conversions  will  probably  never  be  known  ;  certainly,  it  is  not 
important  that  any  accurate  statement  of  this  part  of  the  work 
should  now  be  made.  There  are,  however,  some  questions 
which  we  have  a  right  to  ask.  Are  the  Christians  of  Brooklyn 
being  stirred  up  to  holy  enthusiasm  and  consecrated  service  ? 
Is  there  any  general  awakening  among  the  church  members  ? 
Do  they  hear  the  call  of  the  Master  to  go  out  into  the  highways 
and  hedges — into  the  dark  places  of  the  city — to  compel  by  their 
loving  entreaty  and  earnest  counsel  the  hardened  and  ignorant 
and  depraved  and  self-righteous  to  come  and  listen  to  the  good 
tidings  of  salvation  ?  These  are  questions  that  may  be  asked, 
and  to  which  answers  in  the  afiirmative  can  now  be  given. 
The  churches  of  Brooklyn  were  never  more  alive  to  their  re- 
sponsibilities than  now,  and  this  gives  hope  that  a  genuine  re- 
vival has  already  commenced,  the  ultimate  result  of  which  may 
not  be  estimated,  and  will  never  be  known. 

One  of  the  most  hopeful  and  encouraging  features  of  the 
Brooklyn  special  services,  conducted  by  the  Messrs  Moody  and 
Sankey,  has  been  the  united  and  perfectly  harmonious  action  of 
the  ministers  and   laymen  of  all  denominations  of  Christians^ 


MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  25 1 

Frequently  may  be  seen  thirty  or  forty  of  the  city  pastors  gath- 
ered aiound  the  platform  in  the  Tabernacle  at  the  moining 
prayer-meetings,  and  all  ready  to  do  their  utmost  towards  in- 
creasing the  interest  and  success  of  the  services.  All  minor 
differences  have  sunk  into  obscurity  in  view  of  the  great  work 
which  is  being  carried  on  ;  and  there  is  no  thought  of  sectarian- 
ism in  the  heart  of  any  man  or  woman  actively  engaged  in  the 
work  of  winning  souls.  This  union  spirit  was,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, also  a  leading  characteristic  of  the  revival  movement  in 
Great  Britain. 

Another  feature  of  blessing  is  an  increased  use  of  the  Bible 
by  the  attendants,  who  are  constantly  urged  and  inspired  to  its 
study   by  the  speaker's  appeals  and  example. 

Mr.  Moody's  habit  of  Bible  study  has  been  for  the  past  five 
years  to  lise  at  five  o'clock  and  give  an  hour  in  the  early  morn- 
ing to  the  study  of  the  Bible.  This  is  one  secret  of  his  great 
Bible  knowledge. 

Mr.  Moody's  Bible  is  an  interesting  book;  It  was  given  him 
by  a  friend,  and  bears  on  the  fly-leaf  the  words  :  "  D.  L.  Moody, 
Dublin,  December,  1872.—'  God  is  love.'  W.  Fay."  The  Bible 
is  an  8vo  volume,  with  flexible  black  morocco  covers  and  turned 
edges.  Though  given  Moody  in  the  last  month  of  1872.  it 
appears  as  if  it  might  have  seen  ten  years'  service.  Some  of 
the  leaves  are  worn  through  with  handling.  But  nearly  every 
page  gives  another  and  more  positive  proof  of  the  study  Mr. 
Moody  has  given  the  Book.  In  the  Old  Testament  many  por 
tions  are  annotated  on  nearly  every  page.  Especially  is  this  trut 
of  those  parts  treating  of  the  history  of  the  Israelites,  the  chosen 
people  of  God.  But  in  the  New  Testament,  open  the  book 
wherever  one  may,  the  pages  are  marked  and  annotated  in 
black,  red,  and  blue  ink  to  a  wonderful  extent.  Sometimes 
certain  words  are  underscored  ;  again  a  whole  verse  is  inclosed 
in  black  lines,  with  mysterious  numbers  or  a  single  letter  of  the 
alphabet  marked  opposite.  All  around  the  margins  and  at  the 
chnpter-heads  are  comments  on  certain  passages — an  idea  em- 
bodied in  two  or  three  words,  with  the  more  important  word 
underscored.     Turning  to  the  texts  of  the  sermons  Mr.  Moody 


252  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

has  preached  in  Brooklyn,  one  finds  the  burden  of  his  themes 
often  embodied  one  of  those  marginal  notes.  There  is  scarcely 
a  page  in  the  New  Testament  where  a  dozen  such  annotations 
could  not  be  counted  ;  while  in  some  instances  every  space  in 
the  margin  is  filled,  and  hardly  a  sentence  has  escaped  the 
evangelist's  pen. 

In  combating  men's  trivial  objections  he  said;  one  of  the 
worst  excuses  is  the  old  Bible.  Of  all  the  sceptics  that  I  have 
ever  heard  talk  against  the  Bible,  I  have  yet  to  find  the  first 
one  that  has  ever  read  it  from  back  to  back.  They  read  a 
chapter  here  and  there,  and  lay  it  down  and  say  it  is  dark  and 
mysterious  to  them,  and  they  don't  understand  it,  and  they 
never  will  understand  it  until  they  are  spiritually  minded,  for 
its  truths  are  spiritually  discerned.  No  unrenewed  man  can 
understand  it.  What  he  can  know  is  that  he  has  sinned. 
Everything  tells  you  that  in  your  experience  in  life.  Your  rest- 
less spirit  and  anxious  soul,  whether  you  acknowledge  it  or  not, 
prove  it.  You  can  know  from  the  Bible  that  Jesus  Christ  came 
to  save  you,  a  sinner,  and  prove  it  by  trying  it. 

The  Bible  ought  to  be  read  right  through.  It  is  only  then  you 
can  know  the  music,  the  swell,  the  cadence,  the  rapture  and 
sorrow,  the  triumph  and  the  tears,  of  God's  Word.  W^hat 
would  you  know  of  your  boy's  letter,  if  you  were  to  read  the 
superscription  on  Monday,  to  look  at  the  signature  on  Friday, 
and  read  a  little  in  the  middle  of  it  three  months  afterwards?  I 
get  tired  toward  the  end  of  July  and  I  go  away  to  the  mountains. 
I  take  the  Bible  with  me ;  I  read  it  through,  and  I  feel  as  if  1 
had  never  seen  the  book  before.  I  have  spent  most  of  my  life 
in  reading  and  expounding  it,  yet  it  seems  as  if  I  had  never  seen 
it.  It  is  so  new,  so  rich,  so  varied,  the  truth  flashing  from  a 
thousand  unexpected  and  undiscovered  points,  with  a  light 
above  the  brightness  of  the  sun.  And  that  summer  reading  of 
the  Bible  is  what  I  call  tuning  the  instrument. 

If  anybody  docs  not  believe  the  Bible,  he  has  never  read  it 
through ;  he  may  have  read  a  little  here  and  there,  with  general 
commentaries  and  criticisms  between,  but  he  has  not  read  the 
whole.     Once  two  men  said,  "  We  will  disprove  the  conversion 


MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


253 


of  Paul.''  They  read  it  through — and  wrote  a  book  in  proof  of 
it.  So  will  God  deal  with  all  destructive  critics  who  really  make 
themselves  masters  of  the  situation  they  intended  to  overthrow. 

It  is  wonderful,  if  you  read  the  whole,  how  it  gets  hold  of  you 
somewhere.  1  have  tried  it  ;  and  I  appeal  to  you  who  know  it 
best,  whether  you  will  willingly  let  it  drop  out  of  your  fingers^ 
when  it  has  once  got  into  the  movement  and  necessity  of  your 
being. 

One  secret  of  his  power  is  well  described  by  himself:  Mr. 
Moody  chose  his  subject,  "  The  Holy  Ghost,"  and  related  an 
incident  in  his  early  life  as  an  evangelist,  wtien  an  old  gentle- 
man had  said  to  him :  "  Young  man,  when  you  speak  again, 
honor  the  Holy  Ghost."  Mr.  Moody  said  he  had  never  for- 
gotten the  advice,  and  had  profited  much  from  it.  "The  Holy 
Spirit  is  a  person.  We  get  life  through  the  Holy  Ghost.  We 
can  have  no  revival  save  through  Him.  He  gives  hope.  When 
He  ai rives  we  lean  upon  something  more  than  human  supports. 
Men  often  utter  the  prayers  which  they  spoke  twenty  years  ago. 
We  only  know  how  to  pray  when  we  have  the  Holy  Spirit. 
There  are  two  kinds  of  Christians.  The  one  class  are  as  an 
ordinary  well,  from  which  you  must  pump  all-  their  religion. 
The  other  are  artesian,  and  send  forth  the  waters  of  love  con- 
tinually. If  we  are  full  of  the  Spirit  to-day,  it  is  no  assurance 
for  to-morrow.  We  must  keep  at  the  fountain  all  the  time. 
Think  of  Elisha,  how  he  followed  Elijah  and  at  last  received  his 
robe  and  a  double  portion  of  his  grace.  That  old  farmer  made 
the  mightiest  prophet  the  world  ever  saw.  The  Church  is  living 
too  much  upon  old  manna.  They  think  one  supply  enough  for 
their  life."  When  Mr.  Moody  had  finished  the  whole  congre- 
gation sang  the  128th  hymn,  "Come  Holy  Spirit." 

Another  Element  of  influence  has  been  forcibly  stated  :  here 
is  our  view  of  the  case :  Unselfishness  is  the  greatest  power  in 
the  world.  The  man  who  gladly  makes  sacrifices  for  the  honor 
of  God  and  the  well  being  of  mankind  wields  an  immense  power. 
When  the  Holy  Spirit  is  allowed  to  enter  and  occupy  the  hearts 
of  men,  selfishness  disappears.  Selfishness  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
cannot  dwell  together.     It  is  because  of  the  absolute  unselfish' 


254  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

ness  of  these  evangelists  now  working  in  Brooklyn  that  multi- 
tudes hear  them  gladly.  The)'  are  earnest  and  enthusiastic,  not 
seeking  their  own,  but  Christ's  glory.  They  themselves  are 
nothing — Christ  is  everything. 

Persistent  effort  has  been  made  by  the  enemies  of  pure  and 
undefiled  religion  to  discover  flaws  in  the  character  and  methods 
of  these  men.  The  world  itself,  which  generally  delights  in 
truthfulness,  and  fair  play,  has  frowned  down  the  effort  as  dis- 
honorable. Honest  Christians  know  well  the  falsity  of  the  ac- 
cusation. These  self  denying  men  have  no  stain  of  CcEsar's 
gold  about  them.  They  are  after  souls,  not  money.  They  are 
engaged  in  heaven's  mission,  working  to  lift  society  from  the 
debasing  bondage  of  Satan  to  the  blessed  service  of  Christ.  In 
self-sacrifice  they  are  strong.  Consistent  and  self-denying  lives 
are  yet  largely  an  undeveloped  power  within  the  Church. 
Unworthy  membership  breeds  much  mischief  It  was  at  this 
citadel  of  sin  that  Moody  and  Sankey  directed  their  first  shot. 
The  sacred  fort  has  in  too  many  cases  been  betrayed  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy  through  the  foes  v/ithin  it.  The  world  is 
not  reading  God's  word,  but  scanning  closely  the  lives  of  Chris- 
tian professors,  and  they  find  many  grievous  blemishes.  It  is 
because  Moody  and  Sankey  are  like  Enoch  walking  daily  with 
God,  that  they  are  honored  and  successful.  They  have  learned 
that  most  difficult  lesson  that  we  cannot  serve  God  and  mam- 
mon. They  are  fully  persuaded  that  they  are  their  brother's 
keeper ;  and  men  flock  after  them  to  hear  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel  in  all  their  grand  simplicity  ;  to  learn  from  men  who  in 
their  lives  and  labors  present  glorious  examples  of  the  blessed 
influence  of  the  Gospel  message.  They  are  bold,  yet  most  un- 
assuming soldiers  of  the  cross  ;  not  afraid  of  the  warfare,  but 
rejoicing  in  the  conflict.  It  is  uj^on  such  that  the  blessing  of 
heaven  descends.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  understanding  the 
power  of  these  men.  It  is  of  God.  They  are  living  obedient 
lives.  If  we  fail  to  perceive  the  connection  the  fault  is  our  own. 
The  scales  have  not  yet  fallen  from  our  eyes. 

Mr.  Sank(;y's  singing  has  caused  almost  as  great  an  awaken- 
ing as  his  associate's  preaching.     Choristers  have  probably  as 


MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  255 

Beldom  adopted  Sankey's  songs  as  ministers  have  used  Moody's 
sermons,  but  the  power  of  song  has  been  reahzed  as  never  be- 
fore, the  artistic  quartette  with  its  soulless  music  is  going  out  of 
favor,  and  congregations  are  being  lectured,  with  good  effect, 
about  their  neglect  of  one  of  the  most  effective  means  of 
worship. 

A  pervading  sentiment  of  vigor  of  soul  and  the  deepest  sin- 
cerity animates  hun.  He  is  possessed  of  all  the  enthusiasm 
which  fills  the  speech  of  Mr.  Moody,  and  brands  his  words  on 
the  minds  and  in  the  hearts  of  men  as  by  fire.  But  it  is  enthu- 
siasm  subdued  to  the  rhythm  and  melody  of  his  songs,  and  stirs 
the  souls  of  his  hearers  by  the  feeling  it  awakens  of  genuine 
and  whole-souled  praise,  such  as  the  devout  heart  in  moments 
of  religious  exaltation  may  long  for  but  seldom  attains  fully. 
This  is  the  impression  left  by  a  first  hearing  of  Mr.  Sankey, 
as  stated  by  many,  and  confirmed  by  the  almost  breathless  si- 
lence during  the  execution  of  his  solos,  and  the  fervor  with 
which  the  vast  body  of  the  audience  join  their  voices  to  swell 
the  chorus  of  praise.  Another  source  of  power  to  Mr.  Sankey 
is  the  manner  in  which  he  subordinates  and  modulates  the  organ 
in  the  reinforcement  of  his  voice.  The  effect  produced  is  some- 
thing which  would  hardly  seem  attainable  were  Mr.  Sankey  to 
sing  to  the  accompaniment  of  some  other  person.  Mr.  Sankey 
sings  and  plays  with  his  whole  soul  and  body.  He  is,  however, 
entirely  free  from  anything  which  might  be  called  a  mannerism, 
and  his  passages  of  greatest  force  are  executed  with  great  vigor 
and  animation  of  body,  wholly  natural,  and  suggested  by  the 
sentiment  and  stirring  feeling  of  the  hymn. 

lu  explanation  of  the.  chorus,  "  Hold  the  Fort  for  I  am  Com- 
ing," he  said  that  during  the  Rebellion  one  of  the  Union  officers 
in  command  of  a  fort  closely  invested  by  General  Hood,  was 
almost  persuaded,  by  the  distress  of  his  men,  to  surrender  the 
position,  when  he  received  a  dispatch  from  General  Sherman 
to  this  effect :  "  Hold  the  fort  fori  am  coming— W.  T.  Sherman." 
It  filled  the  soldiers  with  confidence,  they  kept  up  courage  and 
were  saved.  He  exhorted  those  present  to  show  an  equally 
abiding  faith  in  Christ  and  they  would  be  saved- 


256  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Mr.  Sankey  produced  a  remarkable  effect  by  the  manner  in 
which  he  rendered  the  last  line,  ''Victory  is  nigh,"  and  dwelt 
with  redoubled  force  upon  the  word  "  Hold,"  until  the  vast 
chorus  had  caught  the  spirit  and  action  ol"  the  loader.  Mr. 
Sankey  also  sang  the  verses  of  the  iSth  hymn,  "  Rescue  the 
perishing,"  but  the  audience  did  not  respond  as  enthusiastically 
as  usual  in  the  chorus.  After  the  services  Mr.  Sankey  said 
that  this  hymn  was  new,  at  least  he  had  not  had  it  very  long, 
and  that  a  large  portion  of  the  audience  was  unacquainted  with 
the  tune.  He  was  confident  they  would  sing  it  with  the  usual 
force  after  hearing  it  a  few  more  times.  He  expressed  himself 
highly  pleased  with  the  interest  the  audiences  had  shown  in  the 
sittging  throughout  the  week,  and  said  that  feature  of  the  meet- 
ings was  very  similar  to  their  experience  in  London. 

One  of  the  most  celebrated  of  Mr.  Sankey's  collection  of 
hymns  is  ''  The  Ninety  and  Nine."  It  was  a  favorite  in  Eng- 
land, and  is  much  admired  here.  Several  statements  concern- 
ing  its  origin  have  been  published  which  conflict  with  each  other, 
and  no  one  of  them,  Mr.  Sankey  said  yesterday,  is  correct.  The 
true  facts  in  the  case  are  these :  Some  time  in  1873,  Mr, 
Sankey  being  then  in  England  with  Mr.  Moody  for  the  firsl; 
time,  bought  a  copy  of  The  Christiajt  Age,  a  London  religious 
paper  publishing  Dr.  Talmage's  sermons,  and  in  one  corner 
found  this  hymn.  He  had  never  seen  nor  heard  of  it  before. 
It  pleased  him,  and  seemed  adapted  to  religious  work.  He 
cut  it  out  of  the  paper,  and  three  days  afterward  he  sung  it  at 
a  meeting  in  Free  Assembly  Hall  in  Edinburgh,  having  com- 
posed the  music  himself  A  short  time  after,  he  received  a 
letter  from  a  lady  thanking  him  for  having  sung  the  hymn,  and 
stating  that  the  author  was  her  sister.  Miss  Eliza  C.  Claphane 
of  Melrose,  Scotland.  She  had  written  the  hymn  in  1868  and 
shortly  after  died.  She  and  her  whole  family  were  members 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  were  not  Unitarians,  as  stated 
in  this  country.  Mr.  Sankey  replied  to  the  lady's  letter,  asking 
if  her  sister  had  ever  written  any  other  hymns,  and  was  told 
that  she  had  written  several  others  which  were  sent  to  Th& 
Family  Ireasury,  a  religious  paper  of  which  the  late  Dr.  Arnot 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMKRICA.  21^7 

was  the  editor,  but  only  "  The  Ninety  and  Nine  "  was  ever 
published.  Mr.  Sankey  communicated  with  him,  and  received 
several  pieces  of  manuscript.  The  only  other  hymn  by  the 
same  author  in  Mr.  Sankey's  collection  is  the  43d,  "  Beneath 
the  Cross  of  Jesus."  He  has  been  gathering  hymns  for  the 
past  eight  years,  keeping  a  scrap-book  for  that  purpose.  Many 
of  them  are  found  in  the  common  Sunday-school  collections, 
and  were  not  known  in  England  before  Moody  and  Sankey 
introduced  them.  Since  that  time  they  have  become  the  most 
popular  hymns  in  Great  Britain.  While  the  evangelists  were 
in  Scotland  they  at  first  found  difficulty  in  inducing  people  to 
smg  their  hymns,  as  the  Presbyterians  preferred  their  version 
of  the  Psalms.  The  evangelists  were  accustomed  to  sing  the 
looth,  23d,  and  40th  Psalms,  or  the  ist,  107th,  and  125th 
Hymns  of  the  collection,  and  then  ask  the  Presbyterian  to  sing 
"  Hold  the  Fort,"  which  they  usually  did,  and  at  length  sang 
any  of  the  hymns. 

The  record  of  God's  gracious  dealings  by  the  agency  of  his 
honored  servants  in  Brooklyn  promises  to  be  eclipsed  by  the 
brilliant  display  of  divine  mercy  on  their  work  in  Philadelphia  ; 
and  we  may  bring  our  review  to  a  close  by  giving  the  keynote 
as  struck  by  Mr.  Moody  the  morning  of  his  advent  in  the  city 
of  churches. 

"  Ah  !  Lord  God  !  behold  thou  hast  made  the  Heaven  and 
the  earth  by  thy  great  power  and  stretched-out  arm  and  there 
is  nothing  too  hard  for  thee." 

"And  there  is  nothing  too  hard  for  thee."  During  the  past 
two  years,  into  every  town  and  city  that  Mr.  Sankey  and  I  have 
gone,  we  always  took  this  verse  as  the  keynote  to  our  work. 
We  generally  commence  every  prayer-meeting  by  reading  this 
verse — nothing  is  too  hard  for  God — and  it  was  a  wonderful 
help  to  us.  Sometimes  our  ways  seemed  hard  ways.  Then  we 
came  back  to  the  old  text  and  these  ways  were  freed  from  all 
darkness.  It  sometimes  seemed  as  if  some  men  could  not  be 
converted.  But  we  came  back  to  the  old  text,  and  flinty  hearts 
wou'd  break.  At  Edinburgh  I  was  told  that  a  young  man  who 
was  pointed  out  to  me  was  the  chairman  of  an  infidel  club.     1 


258  MOODY    AND    SAXK.EY    IN    AMERICA. 

went  and  stood  beside  him,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  thinking 
of  his  soul.  He  turned  to  me  and  said,  "How  do  you  know 
I've  got  one?"  I  thought  it  was  no  use  trying,  but  then  I 
thought  nothing  is  too  hard  for  God.  I  asked  him  if  I  might 
pray  for  him.  He  said,  "  You  may  pray  if  you  like.  Try  your 
hand  on  me."  I  got  down  on  my  knees  and  prayed  for  him. 
His  head  was  held  up  and  his  eyes  did  not  notice  me,  and  he 
seemed  to  say  to  the  people  that  my  prayers  did  not  affect  him 
at  all.  For  six  long  months  prayers  were  daily  offered  in 
prayer-meetings  for  the  infidel.  This  was  in  January  or  the  lat- 
ter part  of  December,  and  a  year  afterward,  or  a  little  over  a 
year,  when  we  were  at  work  in  Liverpool,  I  got  a  letter  from  a 
person  in  Edinburgh,  who  said  that  the  infidel  was  at  the  foot 
of  the  cross,  crying  for  mercy  ;  and  just  as  we  were  leaving 
England  we  heard  that  he  was  leading  a  meeting  every  night. 
I  was  to  give  you  this  as  our  key-note — nothing  is  too  hard 
for  God.  It  is  just  as  easy  for  God  to  save  the  most  abandoned 
man  as  for  me  to  turn  my  hand  over.  If  this  is  God's  work,  we 
had  better  cling  to  it;  if  this  is  Christ's  work,  it  is  as  lasting  as 
eternity  itself.  I  have  a  good  deal  more  hope  of  this  prayer- 
meeting  than  the  meetings  at  the  Rink.  It  is  not  preaching 
that  you  want  you  have  plenty  of  preaching.  You  have  plenty 
of  men  who  can  preach  better  than  I  can.  You  have  plenty  of 
men  who  can  sing  better  than  Mr.  Sankey  can.  Let  this  be 
your  key-note — nothing  is  too  hard  for  God  to  do  in  His  great 
power. 

I  asked  my  boy  how  God  created  the  world.  He  said,  "  He 
spoke."  .  That  is  all ;  "  He  said,  let  there  be  light,  and  there 
was  light."  He  can  convert  the  thief,  the  harlot,  the  most 
abandoned,  and  another  class  still  harder,  that  is  the  self-right- 
eous Pharisee.  God  can  do  it.  Nothing  is  too  hard  for  him. 
Let  us  every  morning  keep  this  text  in  our  hearts,  "  Nothing 
is  too  hard  for  thee."  Our  God  can  do  it.  They  tell  us  that 
the  sun  is  thirteen  hundred  thousand  times  larger  than  the 
world,  and  our  God  created  it.  There  have  been  eighty  millions 
of  other  suns  discovered,  but  these  are  only  a  fringe  on  the 
garments  of  God.     Our  God  did  it  all.     If,  then,  God  is  so 


MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  259 

great,  shall  we  not  ask  him  for  great  things?  We  honor  God 
by  asking  for  great  things.  Alexander  had  a  general  who  ac- 
complished a  great  victory ;  and  it  pleased  him  greatly.  He 
told  the  general  to  draw  on  his  treasurer  for  any  amount  he 
wished,  and  directed  his  treasurer  to  honor  the  draft.  The 
draft  was  so  large  that  the  treasurer  was  afraid  to  pay  it.  The 
emperor  said,  "Didn't  I  tell  you  to  honor  his  draft.?  Don't 
you  know  he  honors  me  by  making  so  large  a  draft.?"  Don't 
you  know  we  honor  God  by  asking  for  great  things.?  The 
church  has  been  asking  for  little  things  too  long. 

Let  us  go  now  to  the  20th  verse.  "  Behold  I  am  the  Lord, 
the  God  of  all  flesh.  Is  there  anything  too  hard  for  me  ?  " 
Just  as  if  it  pleased  him.  He  says  to  Jeremiah,  '^  Is  there 
anything  too  hard  for  me.?  I  am  the  Lord,  the  God  ot  all 
flesh."  God  has  shown  us  great  things,  but  when  we  accept 
his  tnith  we  will  see  still  greater  things. 

The  next  chapter,  3d  verse :  "  Call  unto  Me  and  I  will 
answer  thee  and  show  thee  great  and  mighty  things,  which  thou 
knowest  not."  Now,  my  friends,  let  us  this  morning  call  upon 
God,  and  when  we  pray  let  us  ask  him  for  something.  There 
are  a  great  many  who  come  for  nothing,  and  therefore  they  get 
nothing.  Let  us  come  with  some  great  burden  upon  our  hearts 
— some  great  petition.  Let  us  bring  it  before  God.  Let  us  try 
it.  When  a  man  was  one  time  making  a  long  prayer,  and  ask- 
ing for  nothing  in  particular,  an  old  woman  says,  "  Ask  God 
for  something,  and  see  if  he  don't  give  it  you."  Let  us  ask 
for  something,  and  we  will  get  it.  Let  every  mother  ask  for  the 
salvation  of  her  sons  and  daughters.  Nothing  is  too  hard 
for  him.  We  may  not  see  the  answers  to  our  prayers,  but 
God  does  answer  the  prayers  of  the  faithful. 

Between  thirty  and  forty  years  ago,  at  a  prayer-meeting 
which  I  held,  there  was  a  mother  who  had  a  very  bad  son.  He 
was  a  very  bad  man  :  he  was  very  profane  and  was  one  of  the 
noted  men  of  the  town  for  his  sin.  And  when  the  church  was 
struck  with  lightning  he  said  he  would  have  given  $25  if  it  had 
burned  it  down.  During  the  past  few  weeks  the  Lord  God  has 
found  him.     He  has  resolved  to  stop  swearing  and  come  back 


26o  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN'    AMERICA. 

to  church.  I  asked  him  to  go  down  on  his  knees  and  pray. 
He  answered  that  he  had  been  on  his  knees  all  day.  We  may 
not  see  the  answers  to  our  prayers,  but  God  answers  the  prayer 
of  f^iith.     Let  us  pray. 

Our  heavenly  Father,  we  thank  Thee  for  this  "  Sweet  Hour 
of  Prayer."  We  thank  thee  for  the  privilege  we  have  this 
morning  of  coming  to  this  place  and  worshipping,  and  we  pray 
that  thou  wouldst  give  us  the  spirit  of  prayer.  Teach  us  how 
to  pray.  May  we  come  and  ask  thee  great  things.  Nothing 
is  too  hard  for  thee.  So  we  pray  that  thou  would  take  the 
whole  country  to  thyself  and  lay  it  at  thy  feet.  Do  a  work  in 
this  country  that  shall  make  all  men  embrace  salvation.  In 
answer  to  prayer  may  there  go  up  a  cry,  "  What  shall  I  do  to 
be  saved.-*"  Teach  thy  servant  to  preach.  Send  him  a  mes- 
sage from  the  upper  world  to-night,  and  may  his  words  come 
from  the  heart  and  go  to  the  hearts  of  many.  We  pray  for 
these  mothers  that  are  here  this  morning.  May  they  pray  for 
their  sons  and  daughters,  that  they  may  be  saved.  We  pray 
for  these  Sunday-school  teachers  who  have  unconverted  schol- 
ars ;  may  they  labor  and  pray  much.  We  pray  that  the  chil- 
dren may  be  gathered  into  the  fold  of  Christ.  May  the  harvest 
be  ripe,  and  may  we  come  to  this  place  carrying  our  sheaves, 
and  Christ  will  have  all  the  praise  and  glory.     Amen. 


MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  261 


CHAPTER      XXIII. 

The  Evangelists  in  Philadelphia. 

Their  advance  on  Philadelphia  had  been  carefully  prepared 
for  by  earnest,  wise,  and  strong  men,  who  arranged  for  a  gigantic 
campaign  corresponding  with  the  greatness  of  their  city,  and  the 
popularity  of  the  men  who  had  carried  Brooklyn  by  storm.  The 
freight  depot,  corner  Thirteenth  and  Market  Streets,  was  fitted  up 
for  the  accommodation  of  twelve  thousand  persons,  as  many  as  it 
was  probable  the  preacher's  voice  could  reach.  A  grand  choir 
of  five  hundred  trained  and  superior  singers  was  drilled  to  act 
as  a  choir  to  aid  Mr.  Sankey,  and  a  union  of  churches  effected, 
by  which  all  the  ablest  and  most  efficient  Christians  were  com- 
bined in  solid  phalanx.  Unworn  by  the  immense  labors  undergone 
in  Brooklyn,  the  brethren  tore  themselves  away  from  their  friends 
there,  and  sped  to  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love,  there  to  preach 
and  sing  of  that  Divine  Love  which  is  the  theme  of  sermon  and 
song  by  day  and  by  night,  wherever  the  evangelists  set  up  their 
standard.  Never  had  men  equal  advantages,  and  never  was 
more  expected  of  human  beings.  There  was  a  feeling  of  need  in 
the  churches  of  something  more  than  they  had,  and  they  were 
looking  to  the  men  whom  God  had  so  greatly  honored,  and  stood 
ready  to  co-operate  with  them.  In  one  branch  of  the  church, 
this  was  the  testimony:  Rev.  W.  P.  Corbit  spoke  with  much 
earnestness.  The  Methodist  Church,  he  said,  was  in  a  deplor- 
able condition.  Tie  chief  causes  were  a  laxity  of  discipline  and 
a  want  of  praying  bands.  A  speedy  remedy  for  this  state  of 
things  was  needed.  No  new  agencies  were  wanted.  The  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  worked  by  its  own  machinery,  would 
take  tl  e  world,  if  it  were  allowed  to  work.  It  is  the  pioneer 
church  in  this  country.  The  remedy  is  in  union  of  effort  and 
activity.     Preachers  had  been  preaching  their  heads  off  nearly. 


262  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN     VMERICA. 

and  yet  were  effecting  nothing.  There  was  a  disintegration  and 
selfishness  about  the  Church.  Each  one  of  the  church  organiza- 
tions thought  of  itself  only.  There  was  a  jealousy  among  the 
preachers  and  lay  brethren  that  ought  not  to  exist.  The  only 
remedy  is  union.  There  must  be  a  coming  together,  and  a  re- 
turn to  the  old  circuit  system.  Let  the  preachers  and  people 
gather  together  as  Moody  and  Sankey  have  got  them  together. 
He  did  not  depreciate  Moody  and  Sankey,  but  they  had  many 
men  in  their  own  body  who  were  just  as  gifted  as  they,  or  more 
so.  It  was  not  Moody,  and  it  was  not  Sankey,  but  the  power 
which  they  possess  of  bringing  good  people  together  to  work  for 
God. 

In  another  quarter  it  was  said,  and  we  may  understand  the 
language  as  confession :  The  Church  was  never  more  aggressive 
than  now.  Machinery  was  never  better  managed.  There  never 
was  so  much  of  it.  The  display  of  strength  was  never  finer.  But 
all  this  may  be  only  equipped  and  organized  weakness.  The 
Church  is  nothing  if  not  pious.  More  than  this,  it  is  very  little 
if  not  consistently  pious.  To  be  zealously  affected  in  a  good 
cause,  is  good  only  on  condition  that  it  be  '■''  always y  A  church 
is  an  ekkksia — a  company  called  out  from  the  world.  Its  strength, 
therefore,  lies  in  its  divergence  from  the  world.  To  be  in  it,  yet 
not  of  it,  is  the  double  problem  which  our  machinery  and  our 
spirit  must  combine  to  solve. 

Christians  themselves  were  ready  to  be  touched  with  an  electric 
shock  by  these  surcharged  evangelists.  And  this  was  early  seen 
to  be  a  source  of  weakness  as  well  as  of  strength  to  the  work.  Sin- 
ners were  to  be  reached  by  these  fiery  apostles,  and  the  church 
members  filled  all  the  scats  before  them.  So  that  the  cry  has 
been  raised  by  one  of  the  papers,  and  may  be  repeated  through- 
out the  land,  that  Christians  may  stand  in  the  way  of  the  fiillest 
success  of  the  monster  meetings  likely  to  be  held  all  over  the 
country. 

The  Brooklyn  revival  has  been  in  certain  features  a  sad  disap- 
pointment to  us  who  have  taken  an  interest  and  part  in  it.  Mr. 
Moody  failed,  it  must  be  confessed,  in  his  evening  meetings  at  the 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  263 

Rink  to  reach  that  outside  class  which  he  sought.  The  reason 
for  his  faihire  is  so  discreditable  that  we  almost  hesitate  to  give 
it.  But  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  was  the  dishonesty,  the  self- 
ishness of  excitement-seeking  professed  Christians,  that  made 
these  meetings  a  partial  failure.  Mr.  Moody  tried  his  best  to 
open  the  door  into  his  meetings  to  those  who  are  not  church- 
goers, and  to  shut  it  against  church-members.  He  begged  these 
latter  to  stay  at  home.  He  plead  with  them ;  but  they  still  would 
come.  He  then  issued  tickets,  that  were  offered  only  to  the  non- 
church-goers  j  but  the  conscience-hardened  professors  would  rob 
their  unconverted  neighbors  of  their  tickets  and  lie  their  way  into 
the  Rink,  and  then  have  the  face  to  stand  up  when  all  Christians 
were  requested  to  rise,  and  thus  flaunt  their  hypocrisy  in  the  face 
of  the  evangelist.  Our  words  are  strong,  but  the  responsibility 
of  souls  is  on  the  head  of  these  "  Christians,"  who  have  yet  to 
learn  that  Christianity  means  honor  and  truthfulness.  We  do  not 
like  to  say  these  words ;  but  we  commend  them  now  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Philadelphia  churches.  In  a  famine,  that  man,  oi 
crowd  of  men,  were  beneath  all  contempt  who,  with  cellars  stored 
with  grain  and  their  cheeks  standing  out  for  fatness,  should  crowd 
the  bureaus  of  public  charity,  and  prevent  the  poor  from  rcceiv- 
ing  the  dole  that  should  save  them  from  starvation.  But  nothing 
better,  nay,  worse,  has  been  the  conduct  of  these  greedy  profess- 
ors, very  many  of  them  from  our  cities,  who  have  pushed  the 
Brooklyn  hungry,  starving  poor  away  from  the  Gospel  feast.  May 
the  Lord  not  have  mercy  on  their  souls  until  they  repent. 

It  is  an  unusual  spectacle  to  behold  Christians  so  eager  to  be 
fed  or  taught,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  blessed  results  will  ap- 
pear in  thousands  of  churches. 

A  Scottish  Sunday-school  teacher  says  :  "  I  venture  to  send 
you  the  following  letter  from  London,  because  of  the  reference  to 
young  women's  meetings,  which  are  already  proving  so  useful  to 
the  many  girls  in  our  country  who  consider  themselves  too  grown 
up  and  too  dignified  to  attend  Sunday-school.  The  letter  tells 
its  own  story,  but  I  may  just  add,  in  thankful  acknowledgment 
of  our  loving  Father's  willingness  to  bless  the  feeblest  attempt 


264  MOODY    AXD    SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

of  the  weakest  beginner,  that  that  young  lady  was  the  very  first 
stranger  I  ever  spoke  to  about  coming  to  Jesus.  It  was  only  the 
night  before,  while  Mr.  Moody  was  preaching,  that  I  myself  got 
into  the  sunshine ;  and  when  that  next  night  she  sat  beside  me 
locking  so  sad,  I  could  not  help  saying  to  her,  'Jesus  has  made 
me  so  happy,  won't  you  let  him  make  you  happy  too?'  She 
seemed  just  wailing  to  be  taken  by  the  hand,  and  went  with  me 
almost  at  once  to  the  inquiry-room. 

"  I  write  now  in  testimony  of  the  fact  that  I  am  one  of  the 
many,  many  '  church  members '  who  will  thank  God  through  all 
eternity  for  sending  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  to  our  country  ; 
for,  through  their  means,  we  have  been  led  to  exchange  our 
hopes  and  fears  for  a  glad  certainty^  and  we  can  now  say,  */ 
know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to 
keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him.' 

"  'On  his  word  I  am  resting,  assurance  divine, 
I  am  "  hoping"  no  longer,  I  knoiu  he  is  mine.' 

"The  following  is  the  letter  to  which  I  have  referred : 

"'London,  October  3,  1875. 

"  'Dear  Miss :  I  feel  that  I  have  neglected  this  duty  too 

long.  I  ought  to  have  written  to  you  before.  You  were  the 
means  in  God's  hands  of  making  me  one  of  his  own  children. 
Oh,  how  happy  I  have  been  since  the  night  you  won  me  for  our 
blessed  Redeemer  !  You  do  not  know  who  I  am,  but  possibly 
you  may  remember  me  when  I  tell  you  that  you  gave  me  a  red 
hymn-book  of  Mr.  Sankey's  with  your  address  in  it.  It  was  at 
the  Agricultural  Hall  I  met  you,  and  you  took  me  into  the  in- 
quiry-room. After  talking  to  me  for  some  time  you  brought  me 
to  Mr.  Moody,  and  Mr.  Moody  handed  me  over,  with  several 
other  young  women,  to  a  gentleman  from  Newcastle,  and  before 
I  left  the  inquiry-room  I  had  found  Jesus  as  my  Saviour.  How 
precious  he  ha§  been  to  me  since  that  night  I  I  went  to -hear 
Mr.  Moody  that  evening  out  of  mere  curiosity,  and  had  you  not 
taken   mc   into  the   iuquiry-ruuni,   possibly  1  should  have  gone 


MOODY    AND    SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA.  265 

away  unimpressed.  Afterward  I  went  several  times  to  hear  Mr. 
Mood)'  at  tiie  Opera  House.  I  heard  the  address  to  the  con- 
vei  ts  there,  and  may  the  burning  zeal  I  felt  created  in  my  breast 
that  night  continue.  How  I  wish  I  had  more  leisure  to  work  for 
Jesus,  and  more  boldness.  I  became  a  member  of  a  little  chapel 
close  to  home  soon  after,  and,  as  Mr.  Moody  advised,  I  went  to 
thi^  pastor  first,  and  asked  him  for  work.  He  found  me  some- 
thing to  do  among  the  aged.  One  of  my  old  people  cannot  read, 
and  others  are  so  old  they  cannot  see.  One  poor  old  body  is 
bed-ridden.  It  is  very  pleasant  work,  but  I  always  felt  I  was  not 
actually  winning  souls  for  Jesus,  they  being  mostly  Christians. 
[  have  been  asking  God  for  some  time  to  open  up  a  way  for  me, 
and  now  my  prayer  has  begn  answered  in  a  way  I  hardly  ex- 
pected. Our  dear  pastor  has  planned  a  young  women's  meeting, 
which  is  to  be  held  one  night  in  the  week  from  half-past  eight  till 
half-past  nine  ;  rather  late,  but  that  is  the  most  convenient  hour 
for  business  girls,  whom  it  is  principally  for.  The  plan  is  that 
each  worker  is  to  give  out  not  less  than  one  dozen  invitations ; 
these  are  to  be  given  in  the  streets,  as  the  girls  leave  their  differ- 
ent business  houses.  There  never  has  been  anything  of  the  kind 
done  in  this  part  of  the  vineyard.  The  invitations  are  very  neat, 
and  not  like  common  circulars  or  bills.  Outside  there  is  printed 
an  invitation  and  a  warm  welcome  for  Wednesday  next.  Inside 
there  is  a  small  address  telling  them  how  pleased  we  will  be  to  see 
them  ;  also,  that  if  they  are  strangers  from  home  in  London,  they 
will  meet  many  who  can  sympathize  with  them,  being  also  far 
from  home.  We  had  a  large  meeting  of  workers.  I  do  not 
doubt  success.  It  has  been  made  a  great  subject  of  prayer,  and 
God  has  promised  that  where  two  or  three  are  agreed  on  one 
subject  he  will  grant  their  request.     Will  you  pray  for  us  ? 

" '  Etc.,  etc.  C W .'  " 

In  this  way  the  seed  sown  may  yield  bountiful  harvests  year 
by  year.  Mr.  Moody,  in  his  first  sermon  at  Philadelphia,  said : 
"  Letters  come  in  from  all  parts  saying  that  the  prayer-meetings 
are  four  oi  five  times  larger  than  ever  before  ;  the  prayer-meet- 

13 


266  MOODY    AND    SAXKKY    IN    AMERICA. 

ins:  connected  with  one  of  the  largest  churches  in  New  Vork,  at 
which  before  only  a  few  people  attended,  has,  during  the  last  few 
weeks,  crowded  the  lecture-room  ;  all  this  shows  that  the  spirit 
of  prayer  is  coming  on  the  nation.  God  is  ready  to  give  us  a 
blessing.  I  never  had  such  large  prayer-meetings  in  any  of  the 
cities  in  Great  Britain  as  we  had  in  Brooklyn.  Some  say  this  is 
all  sensational.  If  you  can  get  three  or  four  thousand  people  to 
meet  together  and  pray,  not  to  hear  some  man,  but  to  meet  God, 
and  call  on  God,  it  shows  God  is  in  the  movement.  This  is  no 
sensationalism  or  false  excitement.  If  we  can  but  stir  up  the 
people  to  pray,  the  blessing  is  ours.  I  would  rather  know  how 
to  pray  like  Daniel  than  to  preach  like  Gabriel." 

It  was  amazing  to  note  how  the  subject  of  religion  was  handled 
by  the  secular  press,  whose  readers  numbered  millions  ;  and  their 
utterances  deserve  to  be  gathered  and  reperused  and  studied,  for 
their  corroborative  testimony  to  the  importance  and  thoroughness 
of  the  movement.  They  used  language  like  this,  which  deserves 
the  consideration  of  professed  Christians  as  well  as  worldly  peo- 
ple :  "  With  all  this  we  are  quite  well  aware  that  there  is  a  large 
class  of  thin-brained,  vacant-minded  persons  for  whom  life  has 
nothing  serious  except  personal  discomfort,  and  who  are  most 
flippant  over  the  weightiest  problems  of  existence ;  and  that 
these  stand  ready  upon  the  slightest  pretext  to  make  the  whole 
business  a  jest  and  turn  it  into  ridicule.  But  however  lightly 
they  may  treat  the  matter,  however  much  they  may  burlesque  the 
actors  in  it,  and  make  of  their  zeal  and  devotion  a  mockery  and 
a  jest,  one  thing  is  certain,  that  no  man  or  set  of  men  can  make 
a  religious  movement  of  the  importance  of  this  one  ridiculous 
unless  it  be  the  men  themselves  who  are  engaged  in  it.  So  long 
as  they  are  sincere  and  earnest  and  can  forget  themselves  in  the 
greatness  of  their  work,  nothing  can  withstand  them,  and  cer- 
tiinly  nothing  can  detract  from  their  dignity  or  belittle  their 
efforts.  But  the  emotions  lie  close  together.  H.gh  religious 
sentiment  is  of  a  brittle  edge,  and  easily  crumbles  into  silly  sen- 
timentality. Faith  lies  very  close  to  superstition  ;  it  is  but  a  step 
from   trustfulness  to  blind  credulity.      There   are  well-marked 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY     IN    AMERICA.  267 

metes  and  bounds  which  cannot  be  disregarded  in  the  presenta- 
tion of  religious  truths  and  the  expression  of  religious  sentiments 
and  emotions.  Within  these  limits  the  advocate  or  exhortcr  is 
invested  with  a  grandeur  of  personal  dignity  which  belongs  to 
the  man  who  is  saturated  with  his  belief,  and  who,  in  utter  un- 
consciousness of  self,  is  rapt  in  the  contemplation  of  what  lie 
conceives  to  be  the  absolute  and  awful  truth.  These  limits 
overstepped  for  an  instant  or  by  a  word,  and  his  power  is  gone. 
Between  pathos  and  bathos  the  difference  is  less  than  of  a  letter ; 
the  step  is  that  *  one '  from  the  sublime. 

*'  It  should  not  be  forgotten  by  the  leaders  in  this  revival 
movement  that  religion  is  by  no  means  all  emotional;  that  it 
rests  on  reason  and  common  sense,  which  its  ministers  and  mis- 
sionaries must  not  affront  by  lack  of  logic,  or  shock  by  shallow 
illustrations  and  weak  appeals. 

"The  attitude  and  act  of  prayer  are  beyond  all  other  things 
in  life  invested  with  solemnity  and  clothed  in  mystery.  It  is  the 
supreme  act  of  faith  ;  approached  by  the  penitent  with  doubts  and 
questions  and  infinite  wondering ;  only  slowly  apprehended,  and 
so  immeasurably  vast  in  its  meaning  to  the  helpless  soul  strug- 
gling upward  on  it,  that  man  at  his  very  best  can  only  throw  him- 
self upon  it  in  utter  self-distrust  and  leave  the  rest  to  God.  The 
questioning  men  and  women,  longing  to  learn  the  truth  and  to 
lead  true  lives,  get  no  light  nor  comfort  from  any  flippant  illus- 
trations of  the  power  of  prayer.  They  excite  doubts  instead  of 
removing  them  ;  they  confirm  skepticism  and  awaken  no  convic- 
tion ;  they  do  not  attract  but  repel  the  sincere  seeker  after  truth. 
The  work  in  hand  is  of  too  great  moment  to  be  handled  without 
the  profoundest  care  and  the  most  thoughtful  consideration  of 
every  word  spoken  and  every  act  done. 

"  It  cannot  be  denied  that  a  '  revival  of  religion,'  as  it  is  called, 
adds  largely  to  the  merely  moral  strength  of  society  and  increases 
th^  number  of  those  who  honestly  mean  to  do  right.  Every 
reader  has  known  within  his  personal  experience  more  than  one 
instance  of  a  bad  nature  made  better,  of  a  degraded  character 
elevated,  of  an  unwise  life  made  true  and  rational,  by  the  acqui- 


268  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

sition  of  religious  motives.  Hypocrisy,  humbug,  conceit,  vanity, 
fanatlQsm — these  are  words  which  fall  easily  from  our  tongues; 
but  the  fact  remains  that  hundreds  and  thousands  are  really  in 
earnest.  These  accessions  to  the  right-doing  side  of  the  popula- 
tion cannot  be  otherwise  than  of  good  import.  It  is  unfair  to 
weigh  ordinary  spiritual  experience  against  that  of  larger  natures 
— of  Fenelon  or  of  Pascal,  of  Wesley  or  of  Channing.  The  real 
question  is,  Have  we  here  a  man  who  has  resolved  to  walk 
uprightly  in  this  world  for  the  rest  of  his  days?  If  so,  then 
society  gains  a  good  man  in  the  place  of  a  bad  one,  or  one  who 
"might  at  any  moment  have  become  bad ;  a  good  citizen  instead 
of  a  possible  felon  ;  a  faithful  mechanic  or  tradesman  instead  of 
a  cheat ;  an  honest  merchant  instead  of  a  fraudulent  bankrupt  -, 
a  devoted  instead  of  a  neglectful  parent;  a  good  Samaritan 
instead  of  a  liver  for  self  aione.  These  surely  are  acquisitions 
which  even  the  world  need  not  despise. 

"  Apart  from  the  more  solemn  profession  of  the  religious  con- 
vert, is  his  promise  that  he  will  be  honest  and  kindly;  that  he 
will  neither  lie  nor  cheat  nor  steal  ;  that  whatsoever  of  good  his 
hands  may  find  to  do,  he  will  do  it;  that  he  will  refrain  from  the 
vices  which  degrade  and  impoverish  and  kill ;  that  he  will  no 
longer  be  selfish  and  ungenerous,  and  that  his  works  shall  prove 
the  vitality  of  his  faith.  There  has  bc^n  so  much  loose  talk 
lately  about  religion  and  churches  and  preachers,  that  we  are  in 
danger  of  forgetting  that  all  our  lives  we  have  been  surrounded 
by  thousands  of  excellent  men  and  women  made  gentlemen  and 
ladies  by  grace,  full-hearted  and  full-handed  helpers  of  the  sick, 
the  needy,  and  the  suffering,  doers  of  the  work  whenever  and 
wherever  opportunity  has  offered,  lovely  in  their  lives  and  cred- 
ible because  involuntary  witnesses  of  the  reality  of  their  faith. 
To  the  number  of  these  a  season  of  marked  religious  interest 
unquestionably  must  make  large  additions  ;  for  though  tlje  weak 
may  fall  away,  though  the  most  vociferous  may  grow  silent  and 
the  warmest  cold,  there  will  always  be  a  remnant  of  stronger 
natures  abiding  to  the  end." 

The  chief  purpose  of  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  is  the  con- 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  269 

version  of  souls  to  Christ.  What  sort  of  men  and  women  ihey 
expect  their  converts  to  become,  their  preaching  and  exhortations 
abundantly  proclaim.  Let  us  now  look  in  upon  them,  the  first 
Sunday  in  Philadelphia,  Nov.  21st,  1875. 

While  the  heavens  wept  over  the  departure  of  the  evangelists 
from  religious  Brooklyn,  the  driving  rain  could  not  dampen  the 
enthusiasm  of  thousands  who  were  anxious  to  attend  the  initial 
services  of  the  expected  revival.  From  every  part  of  the  city 
the  worshippers  came,  and  for  almost  an  hour  hurrying  streams 
of  humanity  converged  to  a  focus  at  the  old  exhibition  building. 
The  police  arrangements,  as  indeed  all  the  arrangements  for  the 
accommodation  of  visitors  and  the  maintenance  of  good  order, 
were  perfect.  By  eight  o'clock  the  grand  auditorium  was  about 
two-thirds  full,  while  the  stage  was  occupied  by  over  eight  hun- 
dred persons,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  were  ministers.  Among 
the  more  prominent  clergymen  present  were  Rev.  Richard  New- 
ton, D.D.,  of  the  Episcopal  Church  ;  Rev.  R.  M.  Hatfield,  D.D., 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church ;  Rev.  W.  P.  Breed,  D.D., 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  Rev.  J.  Wheaton  Smith,  D.D.,  of 
the  Baptist  Church,  the  committee  who  have  been  training  a  class 
of  three  hundred  for  services  in  the  inquiry  rooms.  Also  on  the 
stage  were  500  singers  selected  from  all  the  choirs  in  the  city,  and 
thoroughly  drilled  in  Mr.  Sankey's  songs  by  Prof.  Fischer.  In 
the  middle  and  close  to  the  front  of  the  platform  sat  the  evange- 
list, Dwight  L.  Moody,  and  the  "sweet  singer,"  Ira  D.  Sankey, 
surrounded  by  the  gentlemen  who  were  mainly  instrumental  in 
persuading  the  revivalists  to  come  to  Philadelphia.  Messrs. 
George  H.  Stuart  and  John  Wanamaker,  who  have  had  almost 
all  the  great  work  directly  under  their  charge,  were  seated  on  the 
right  of  Rev.  Dr.  Newton,  who  presided  over  the  opening  ser- 
vices. 

At  precisely  eight  o'clock  the  doors  of  the  vast  auditorium 
were  closed,  and  the  hymn, 

**  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name," 

was  sung  with  fine  effect  by  the  choir.    Dr.  Newton  then  made  a 


2JO  MOODY   AND    SAXKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

fervent  prayer  for  the  success  of  the  movement  so  well  begun, 
and  asked  for  the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  all  workers  in 
the  cause.     The  24th  hymn, 

"  Rejoice,  and  be  glad  ! 

The  Redeemer  has  come  ! 
Go  look  on  His  cradle, 
His  cross,  and  His  tomb," 

AMs  next  given  out,  and  hundreds  of  voices  in  the  congregation 
soon  joined  in  to  swell  the  harmonies  of  the  great  choir  on  the 
stage.  Then  upon  the  little  platform  or  pulpit  in  front  ascended 
the  leading  spirit  of  all  this  congregation  of  worshippers,  Mr. 
D wight  L.  Moody.  His  appearance  created  a  momentary  stir  of 
sensation  throughout  the  hall.  Mr.  Moody  is  a  short  and  some- 
what stout  man,  with  a  full,  dark  beard,  rather  small  eyes,  and  an 
active,  energetic,  but  not  nervous  habit.  His  manner  is  alert 
and  prompt,  but  not  graceful ;  his  voice  is  unmusical,  and,  indeed, 
harsh ;  his  enunciation  is  very  clear,  but  somewhat  too  rapid,  yet 
can  be  heard  and  understood  in  every  part  of  the  building.  He 
gesticulates  but  little,  and  his  motions  are  evidently  unstudied. 
His  style  of  speaking  is  entirely  conversational,  but,  though  he 
seldom  makes  any  attempt  at  rhetorical  display,  he  possesses  and 
uses  with  marvellous  effect  a  dramatic  power  which  clothes  the 
most  trite  sayings  with  the  thrilling  beauty  of  fervid  eloquence. 
But,  after  all,  the  great  secret  of  his  power  over  a  vast  assembly 
seems  to  lie  less  in  what  he  says  or  his  manner  of  saying  it  than 
in  his  personal  magnetism,  which  affects  those  who  are  too  far  off 
to  hear  almost  as  strongly  as  those  who  crowd  about  his  feet. 
Before  Mr.  Moody  spoke  the  first  word  he  glanced  quietly  about 
him  for  a  moment,  and  almost  instantly  every  whispered  tone  was 
hushed,  every  breath  bated,  and  throughout  the  congregation  oi 
six  or  eight  thousand  persons  not  a  sound  disturbed  the  strange 
stillness  which  seemed  to  have  been  produced  by  some  mighty 
strength  of  wiH  possessed  by  the  very  unevangelical-Iooking  gen- 
tleman standing  on  the  platform. 

"Now,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  after  announcing  his  text,  "what  is 


MOODY    AND   SANKLY    IN    AMERICA.  S/r 

the  use  of  these  special  meetings?  I  have  been  asked  this  que* 
tion  often.  Are  there  not  churches  enough  ?  Are  there  not  min- 
isters enough,  and  services  enough,  and  sermons  enough?  Yes, 
if  sermons  could  save  sinners,  there  have  been  enough  preached 
to  convert  the  whole  of  Christendom.  We  have  only  come  to 
help  you.  In  time  of  harvest  extra  help  is  always  needed,  and, 
my  friends,  the  harvest  is  here  now." 

He  closed  an  earnest  sermon  on  work  as  follows  : 
"  While  at  Brooklyn,  one  teacher  worked  night  and  day  with 
her  class,  and  one  evening  told  me  with  heartfelt  joy  that  she  had 
twenty-seven  young  ladies  in  the  inquiry-room.  In  less  than  two 
weeks  the  whole  twenty-seven  experienced  a  change  of  heart. 
Don't  think  because  your  children  are  little  or  young  that  they 
can't  share  the  blessings  of  this  revival.  Bring  them  here,  and 
we  will  save  them.  The  power  of  Almighty  God,"  added  Mr. 
Moody,  suddenly  elevating  his  voice,  "  is  in  this  hall  this  mornr 
ing.  Do  you  doubt  it .? "  he  asked,  turning  to  the  clergy  upon  the 
stage.  "  No,"  "  No,"  "  No,"  was  answered.  "  Some  time  ago," 
continued  the  speaker,  "  a  lady  where  we  were  stopping  remained 
away  from  her  Sunday-school,  saying  that  there  were  only  five 
little  boys  in  her  class,  and  one  day  could  make  no  difference. 
Did  you  ever  stop  to  think  what  there  may  be  to  save  in  five 
little  boys  ?  In  one  little  tow-headed  boy  may  sleep  the  Refor- 
mation. In  another  may  be  a  Wesley,  a  Whitefield,  a  Bunyan. 
Little  did  Andrew  know  what  he  was  doing  when  he  brought 
Peter  to  Christ.  May  each  one  of  you  hunt  up  some  Simon 
Peter  and  bring  him  to  Christ ;  find  some  persecuting  Saul  and 
bring  him  to  Christ.  One  lady  in  London,  by  tireless  and  prayer- 
ful labor,  succeeded,  by  the  assistance  of  her  husband,  a  wealthy 
barrister  of  the  metropolis,  in  converting  one  hundred  and  fifty 
of  their  friends  and  acquaintances.  In  speaking  of  it  with  grate- 
ful joy,  she  said,  'We  did  not  work;  we  just  laid  ourselves  out 
for  Christ.'  That's  the  way  to  do  it.  Don't  count  your  strokes ; 
just  lay  yourselves  out.  God  help  you  to  lay  yourselves  out  for 
work.  Go  ye  all  into  the  vineyard  !  Don't  wait  for  the  harvest, 
'for— hark  I" 


27?  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

At  this  exclamation  a  thrill  of  indescribable  anticipation  seemed 
to  pass  through  the  breathless  assembly,  and  then,  after  a  pause, 
during  which  only  the  patter  of  tlie  rain-drops  on  the  roof  could 
be  heard,  the  speaker  concluded  with : 

*'  Hark  !  the  voice  of  Jesus  crying, 
Who  will  go  and  work  to-day  ?  " 

The  tones  of  Mr.  Moody's  voice  had  hardly  ceased  before  the 
same  words  were  repeated  by  Mr.  Sankey's  musical  voice  in  a 
beautiful  hymn : 

"  Hark  !  the  voice  of  Jesus  crying. 
Who  will  go  and  work  to-day? 
Fields  are  white  and  harvest  waiting. 
Who  will  bear  the  sheaves  away?" 

In  the  afternoon  the  throng  was  immense.  For  a  considerable 
time  before  the  hour  for  the  commencement  of  the  services  the 
hall  was  crowded,  and  the  number  anxious  and  clamorous  to 
obtain  admission  was  greater  than  that  within.  Thirteenth, 
Juniper,  and  Market  streets  were  filled  with  people,  and  all  the 
doors  were  guarded  by  an  efficient  police  force,  who  kept  the 
multitude  back.  Such  a  sight  has  not  been  witnessed  for  many 
a  day,  and  such  a  congregation,  largely  made  up  of  earnest 
Christian  men  and  women,  has  never  assembled  in  this  city. 
There  were,  according  to  estimates  made  by  competent  parties, 
fully  thirteen  thousand  persons  present,  and  the  calculation  does 
not  seem  to  be  at  all  out  of  the  way  when  it  is  remembered  that 
there  are  over  one  thousand  chairs  in  the  audience-room,  all  of 
which  were  occupied.  The  order  throughout  the  services  was 
unexceptionable,  and  prior  to  their  commencement  there  was  a 
stillness  that  is  rarely  observed.  There  was  neither  buzz  nor 
hum,  no  one  seemed  inclined  to  even  whisper,  and  while  doubt- 
less many  were  drawn  to  the  place  out  of  curiosity,  the  larger 
portion,  by  their  demeanor,  seemed  to  have  but  one  object,  that 
of  promoting  the  work  of  the  great  revivalists.  The  ladies  and 
gentlemen  of  the  choir  were  promptly  in  their  places ;  and  punc- 


MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  273 

tual  to  time  the  evangelists,  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey,  made 
their  appearance.  The  latter  immediately  took  his  seat  at  the 
melodeon,  while  the  first-named  took  position  at  the  stand,  and 
never  throughout  the  afternoon  did  he  sit  down,  but  kept  his  eye 
upon  the  audience  the  entire  time.  The  services  were  opened 
by  Mr.  George  H.  Stuart,  who  gave  out  a  hymn,  and  after  it  had 
been  sung  by  the  choir,  Rev.  J.  Wheaton  Smith,  D.  D.,  of  the 
Beth  Eden  Baptist  Church,  stepped  forward  and  led  in  prayer. 
Mr.  Sankey  then  gave  out  the  ii6th  hymn,  "Come,  thou  Fount 
of  every  blessing."  At  the  conclusion  of  the  singing,  Mr. 
Sankey  said :  "  We  will  now  sing,  '  Here  I  raise  my  Ebenezer.' 
The  audience  will  all  join  in  the  singing."  The  hymn  was  evi- 
dently popular  with  the  masses,  for  it  was  sung  with  a  hearty 
good-will.  Mr.  Moody  then  announced  that  he  would  read  a 
portion  of  the  first  chapter  of  Joshua,  which  was  subsequently 
made  the  text  of  his  discourse.  Mr.  Moody  spoke  about  twenty 
minutes.  The  two  points  of  his  remarks,  upon  which  he  en- 
larged and  elaborated,  were  moral  courage  and  enthusiasm,  both 
of  which,  he  held,  were  essential  elements  for  success  in  the 
religious  work.  The  address  was  stirring,  earnest  and  effective, 
the  speaker  appearing  to  be  anxious  to  reach  the  hearts  of  his 
hearers,  and  in  this  he  was  eminently  successful,  as  more  than 
one  individual  seemed  to  be  touched  by  the  powerful  appeal 
made  to  take  up  the  cross  and  enlist  under  the  banner  of  the 
Saviour  of  mankind. 

The  hymns,  "Hear  ye  the  Battle  Cry?"  "Forward  the  Call," 
and  "  Hold  the  Fort,"  were  sung  by  Mr.  Sankey,  the  choir  join- 
ing in  the  chorus.  No  such  singing  has  been  heard  in  any  of  the 
churches,  and  the  effect  produced  was  all  that  the  revivalists 
could  have  wished. 

I'hc  revival  movement  gives  promise  of  complete  success.  It 
is  now  the  talk  of  all  classes.  On  'Change,  in  business  circles, 
in  social  gatherings,  on  the  street-cars  and  the  trains,  and  in  the 
greeting  of  friends  in  the  street,  the  names  of  Moody  and  Sankey 
are  on  every  tongue.  The  evangelists  and  their  work  are  liter- 
ally the  town  talk.     "  Have  you  been  to  hear  Mood^  i  '*     "  San- 


174  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

key's  singing  is  better  than  a  sermon;"  "Did  you  hear  the 
'  Ninety  and  Nine  ? '  "  "  Wasn't  that  hymn,  '  Nothing  but  Leaves,' 
impressive?"  "Its  Moody's  earnestness  that  tells;"  "What  a 
team  they  are ! " — these  are  a  few  of  the  thousand-and-one  ex- 
pressions you  hear  every  day.  There  are  plenty  of  sharp  criti- 
cisms on  tlie  methods  of  the  revivalists,  and  doubts  enough  are 
expressed  as  to  the  permanency  of  their  work  ;  but  no  one 
denies  that  they  possess  real  power,  unique  in  kind  and  degree, 
and  wonderfully  effective  in  awakening  a  new  interest  in  the  old 
doctrines  of  religion.  A  common  complaint  among  the  thought- 
ful people  is  that  Mr.  Moody's  sermons  have  no  direct  applica- 
tion to  the  relations  and  duties  of  everj^day  life — that  they  do 
not  aim  to  make  men  less  selfish  and  cold-hearted  and  more 
charitable,  genial,  generous,  and  kind — that  their  sole  purpose 
is  to  induce  people  to  accept  a  certain  form  of  faith,  and  to 
lead  devoutly  religious  rather  than  moral  lives.  It  should  be 
remembered  by  those  who  make  this  criticism,  that  the  great 
preacher  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  immediate  second  coming  of 
Christ.  He  is  looking  for  the  end  of  the  world  and  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Saviour  every  day  and  hour.  No  wonder,  then,  that 
he  does  not  think  it  worth  while  to  talk  about  business  and  social 
morality.  He  is  perfectly  consistent.  Why  ^ould  he  try  to  tell 
people  how  to  live,  when  the  important  thing  is  to  prepare  them 
for  death  and  the  last  judgment  ?  Why  trouble  himself  about  the 
affairs  of  the  household,  the  street,  and  the  mart,  when  he  ex- 
pects every  moment  to  see  the  world  rolled  up  like  a  scroll  ? 

With  few  exceptions  the  clergy  of  the  city  are  taking  a  hearty 
interest  in  the  revival.  Probably  the  Methodists  are  more  active 
in  assisting  it  than  the  other  sects ;  but  Presbyterians,  Episco- 
palians, Baptists,  Lutherans,  and,  in  short,  ministers  of  all  the 
Protestant  denominations,  attend  the  meetings  in  the  Depot 
Church,  and  participate  in  the  morning  assemblies  for  prayer. 
The  general  feeling  among  the  clergy  is  one  of  gratified  disap- 
pointment at  the  character  of  Moody  and  Sankcy's  effort.  They 
had  expected  to  hear  something  much  more  sensational — they 
feared,  indeed,  that  it  would   be  objectionably  sensational — and 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  275 

they  aie  delighted  to' find  that  Mr.  Moody  preaches  only  the 
soundest  doctrine,  and  makes  use  of  none  of  the  theatrical 
devices  of  oratory  employed  by  many  professional  revivalists. 
His  earnest,  direct,  and  humble  appeals,  his  apt  and  familiar  illus- 
trations, and  his  way  of  preaching  on  a  level  with  the  hearts  and 
heads  of  his  hearers,  is  like  a  new  revelation  of  the  possibilities 
of  pulpit  oratory  to  many  clergymen,  whose  well-turned  periods 
and  fine  theological  points  have  proved  powerless  to  stimulate 
the  faith  of  their  congregations. 

A  Presbyterian  minister,  speaking  to  a  friend  after  the  meeting 
was  over  last  night,  said :  *'  Moody's  verbs  don't  always  agree 
with  his  nouns,  but  I  imagine  that  Peter  the  fisherman  didn't  talk 
very  good  grammar  either.  Moody's  language,  if  not  always 
elegant,  never  fails  to  convey  the  exact  idea  that  he  wants  it  to. 
Nobody  can  get  a  wrong  or  a  doubtful  meaning  from  it." 

"  I  have  been  trying  to  get  at  the  secret  of  his  power,"  said  a 
Baptist,  "and  I  think  it  lies,  first,  in  his  own  profound  convic- 
tion, and  second,  in  his  constant  repetition  of  the  same  idea,  with 
just  variation  enough  to  keep  it  monotonous.  By  tireless  re- 
iteration he  wears  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  into  the  stoniest  heart. 
Faith  in  Christ  is  his  simple  and  never-ending  theme.  Most 
ministers  scatter  too  much.  They  seek  to  interest  people's  heads 
by  a  variety  of  topics.  Mr.  Moody  hammers  away  at  the  heart 
with  sublime  persistence." 

Just  after  the  prayer-meeting  this  morning  a  Methodist  min- 
ister, talking  to  a  knot  of  brother  clergymen,  praised  the  revi- 
valists warmly.  "  I  declare  it  gives  me  new  courage,"  he  said, 
"  to  see  people  flocking  to  hear  the  Gospel  in  crowds  larger  than 
went  to  Barnum's  Hippodrome  last  summer.  Since  the  war  it 
has  often  seemed  to  me  that  faith  was  dying  out  in  the  hearts  of 
men.  Any  kind  of  a  show  or  parade  would  draw  a  crowd,  while 
we  talked  about  the  soul's  salvation  and  eternal  life  to  half-filled 
churches.  I  believe  we  are  going  to  see  a  great  awakening  in 
this  country.  Moody  and  Sankey  are  the  Lord's  instruments  to 
begin  the  work.  We  have  had  hundreds  of  better  preachers 
than  Mr.  Moody,  but  they  made  no  impression  on  the  masses. 


276  MOODY   AND   SAN  KEY   IN   AMERICA. 

Why  do  thousands  rush  to  hear  him  ?  Because  the  Spirit  of  God 
is  moving  the  hearts  of  men,  and  he  has  been  chosen  to  lead  a 
great  movement  for  the  salvation  of  souis." 

It  would  seem  that  the  hold  obtained  by  the  evangelists  on 
the  unconverted  masses  is  greater  in  Philadelphia  than  in  Biook- 
Ivn.  The  attendance  from  this  class  is  larger,  and  the  impres- 
sion produced  in  those  who  attend  seems  deep  and  influential. 
Mr.  Moody  pronounced  the  gatherings  of  the  second  Sunday 
more  successful,  in  view  of  the  attendance  of  the  unconverted 
so  early  in  the  series  of  meetings,  than  at  any  other  place  in  this 
country  or  in  England.  The  week  following  showed  an  increase 
rather  than  a  diminution  of  interest,  and  the  third  week  opens 
more  auspiciously  than  either  which  it  follows. 

The  meetings  of  Sunday  last  were  remarkably  effective  The 
day  was  cold  and  wet;  just  such  a  day  as  would  ordinarily  give 
smallest  attendance  at  religious  meetings ;  such  a  day  as  would 
suggest  to  many  a  faint-hearted  country  superintendent  the 
thought  that  it  was  about  time  to  close  the  Sunday-school  for  the 
winter.  But  at  eight  o'clock  on  that  dreary  morning  the  Depot 
Church  showed  a  gathering  of  some  six  thousand  Christian  work- 
ers ;  enough  it  would  seem  to  cheer  the  heart  of  any  doubting 
Elijah  as  to  the  faith  and  zeal  of  very  many  amid  all  the  coldness 
and  unbelief  in  this  great  city.  When,  at  the  close  of  his  ap 
peal  to  these  workers  to  be  "  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good 
works,"  in  their  service  in  God's  vineyard,  Mr.  Moody  asked 
those  who  during  the  coming  week  would  endeavor  to  lead  at 
least  one  soul  to  the  Saviour  to  rise  to  their  feet,  nearly  one-half 
of  all  present  rose  in  indication  of  this  purpose. 

At  the  Sunday-afternoon  meeting  for  women,  at  least  ten 
thousand  were  present.  As  nearly  five  thousand  tickets  of  ad- 
mission had  been  given  to  women  who  expressed  a  desire  to  find 
salvation,  wiiile  many  other  tickets  were  distributed  without  ques- 
tion, Mr.  Moody  thought  there  were  more  than  se\-en  thousand 
unconverted  persons  in  the  audience  ;  certainly  a  hopeful  gather- 
ing at  such  a  time  and  place.  The  appeal  of  the  preacher  was 
most  earnest.     As  he  told  of  the  love  of  Uie  Saviour  for  the  lost, 


MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  277 

and  of  the  full  salvation  offered  freely  to  all,  all  hearts  seemed 
to  throb  as  one  in  gratitude  to  such  a  Saviour  for  such  a  salva- 
tion. When  he' asked  those  who  desired  an  interest  in  this 
salvation  to  rise  and  stand  during  his  prayer,  hundreds  rose  to 
their  feet,  and  afterward  repaired  to  the  inquiry-rooms  for  per- 
sonal converse  and  counsel.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  that 
evening  hour  was  the  birth-hour  of  many  precious  souls,  then 
brought  by  God's  Spirit  into  the  life  of  Christian  love  and  trust. 
At  the  evening  meeting,  which  was  for  men,  while  the  attendance 
was  not  quite  as  large  as  in  the  afternoon,  there  was  great  se- 
riousness, and  many  rose  for  prayers  and  remained  at  the  inquiry- 
meeting. 

For  one  whole  week  Mr.  Moody  labored,  not  for  the  salvation 
of  sinners,  but  for  the  regeneration  of  professed  Christians.  At 
every  service  hundreds  of  long-acknowledged  church  members 
listened  with  bowed  heads  and  tearful  eyes  to  the  fervent  exhorta 
tions  of  the  evangelist,  who,  casting  aside  all  preconceived  notions 
of  church  work,  and  preaching  only  love  to  God  and  devotion  to 
the  Saviour,  brought  to  tlieir  awakening  souls  a  vision  of  the  bless- 
ings of  true  holiness  more  beautiful  than  even  in  their  most  un- 
selfish moods  they  had  ever  before  conceived.  He  did  not 
preach,  "  Repent  in  order  to  avoid  the  wrath  of  an  angry  God," 
and  thus  wring  an  ephemeral  obeisance  from  weak  knees  but 
cold  hearts;  he  preached  Christ  crucified;  drew  for  his  hearers 
convincing  illustrations  of  the  perfect  love  of  the  Father,  and 
urged  them,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  not  to  kneel  from  a  sense  of 
duty,  but  to  cast  themselves  at  the  feet  of  the  Saviour,  and,  with 
a  heart  overflowing  with  love,  there  seek  to  learn  how  to  win 
others  to  the  straight  and  narrow,  but  pleasant  path  of  joy  and 
peace. 

Rev.  Dr.  Breed  said  there  was  a  wonderful  power  in  self-con- 
secration ;  the  ungodly  man  had  at  all  times  a  traitor  in  the  cita- 
del of  his  wickedness — a  conscience  which  would  compel  him  to 
yield  when  assaulted  by  a  truly  consecrated  heart.  He  once 
heard  of  a  young  man  who  had  been  notoriously  bad,  but  had 
suddenly   been    couvcrted,    and   v^as   moved   by   the    Spirit   to 


ayS  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

go  and  pray  with  every  one  in  the  village.  He  started,  and 
knocking  at  every  door,  was,  in  spite  of  his  past  reputation,  ad- 
mitted and 'permitted  to  pray.  The  man  truly  consecrated  to 
God  could  always  have  the  aitree  into  any  house  or  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  into  every  lieart. 

Mr.  Sankey  said  :  "Will  you  please  turn  to  the  90th  hymn.  In 
that  we  will  find  averse  which  should  give  us  great  comfort  if  we 
do  what  that  verse  says.  But  before  we  begin,  I  wish  to  bear 
testimony  to  the  fact  that  we  can  do  no  good  without  a  broken 
and  a  contrite  heart.  Shortly  after  the  Chicago  fire,  seven  men, 
finding  that  their  labors  were  apparently  fruitless,  determined  to 
seek  counsel  of  God,  and  assembled  one  afternoon  in  a  gentle- 
man's office,  and  there  humbled  themselves  before  their  Maker. 
I  saw  these  men  lying  on  their  faces  on  the  floor,  praying  to  be 
emptied  of  self  and  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  These  seven 
men  have  since  been  greatly  blessed  and  greatly  honored  by  God 
in  their  labors.  Two  are  in  the  West,  one  in  Europe,  and  two  in 
this  city.     Now  let  us  sing." 

Mr.  Moody,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  singing,  said :  "  Send 
thanksgiving,  but  praise  to  God  is  better.  What  we  want  to  do 
to-night  is  to  praise  God  for  all  his  mercies,  for  all  that  we  enjoy, 
and  for  all  the  glorious  promises  of  an  immortality.  There  is  a 
great  deal  said  at  our  meetings  about  prayer,  but  nothing  about 
praise.  In  the  Bible  there  are  more  passages  referring  to  praise 
than  to  prayer.  We  want  Christ,  and  if  we  are  heard  to  praise 
him,  then  will  we  be  able  to  get  to  him.  What  we  want  to-day  is 
a  praising  Church.  We  can  be  praising  God  every  day,  even  when 
in  sorrow.  If  we  go  through  the  world  all  the  time  with  a  long 
face,  we  will  drive  men  away  from  Christ.  There  are  so  many 
people  always  borrowing  trouble  and  looking  on  the  dark  side  of 
the  picture  instead  of  praising  God,  that  they  are  only  in  the  way 
of  men  coming  to  Jesus.  A  man  once  severely  cut  his  hand,  and 
said,  'Praise  God,'  and,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "  I  thought  that  it  was 
a  strange  thing  to  praise  God  for.  On  asking  the  man  why  he 
praised  God,  lie  said  he  did  it  because  his  hand  was  not  cut  off. 
You  can  see,  then,  that  in  the  midst  of  afiliction  one  can  praise 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  279 

the  Lord  because  it  might  have  been  worse.  What  we  want  is 
more  sunny  Christian  men,  who  always  have  happy  countenances; 
they  go  far  toward  making  rehgion  attractive  and  drawing  sinners 
to  a  knowledge  of  their  condition  and  the  necessity  of  seeking 
the  Lord.  If  men  praise  God  and  are  happy  in  the  Church,  the 
fire  will  be  caught  by  others  and  spread  until  the  whole  Church 
becomes  alive,  and  all  are  happy  in  the  knowledge  that  Jesus  is 
their  Master.  If  there  are  any  who  should  be  happy,  it  is  those 
who  are  sincere  Christians,  those  who  have  come  to  Christ.  The 
first  thing  a  young  convert  always  does  is  to  pray,  and  when,  in 
praising  God,  he  sings, 

"  '  O  happy  day  ! ' 

how  happy  he  is !  If  the  ten  thousand  persons  present  could  be 
induced  to  take  Christ  as  their  only  friend  and  sing  praises  to 
him,  there  would  be  such  a  shout  as  to  almost  raise  the  roof. 
We  want  to  see  the  time  when  the  streets  are  filled  with  people 
filling  the  air  with  songs  of  praise  to  Zion.  When  that  time  comes 
the  peaple  will  be  happy,  because  they  have  found  Christ.  When 
we  stray  away  from  God,  we  don't  want  to  pray ;  but  when  we 
return  to  God,  then  we  want  to  sing  his  praises.  What  we  want 
to-day  is  a  Church  of  workers,  and  when  we  have  that  we  will 
have  a  praising  Church.  When  a  man  gets  out  of  himself,  be- 
comes unselfish,  and  commences  to  w'ork  for  others,  he  becomes 
a  happy  man,  because  he  is  doing  God's  service.  If  you  want  to 
praise  God,  go  and  do  some  work,  lift  up  somebody,  relieve  the 
sick  and  comfort  the  heart-broken.  By  so  doing  it  will  be  the 
best  praise  that  we  can  give  to  God."  The  speaker  said  that 
some  years  ago  he  met  a  man  who  told  him  that  he  w-as  going  to 
take  his  family  of  five  children  to  church  with  a  smile.  The  man 
said  to  him,  whenever  he  passed  a  house  on  a  certain  street  he 
always  looked  at  the  windows  where  he  saw  children,  and  he 
always  smiled  upon  them.  Said  the  speaker:  "Kindness  to 
children  is  never  forgotten  ;  it  is  the  way  to  reach  their  hearts  and 
gain  their  affection  '  The  children  became  so  fond  of  seeing 
the  man  that  they  watched  for  him,  and  finally  they^aiU  he  was 


«80  MOODY   AND    SANKEV    IN    AMERICA. 

SO  p^ood  and  kind,  that  lie  must  be  a  minister.  They  resolved 
one  Sunday  after  he  passed  to  follow  him,  and  they  did  so;  when 
they  found  that  he  entered  a  church,  they  also  went  in,  and  after 
service  returned  home  and  said  that  they  heard  the  best  sermon 
of  their  lives.  They  went  again,  and  finally  joined  the  church. 
The  man  said  that  he  got  them  in  with  a  smile.  A  crabbed  and 
cross  Christian  never  accomplishes  any  good ;  they  are  stumbling- 
blocks  in  the  way  of  others,  and  prevent  the  building  up  of  the 
Christian  Church.  Oh  that  we  may  have  live  churches  !  What 
we  want  to  do  is  to  get  rid  of  these  dead  churches,  with  their 
cold  forms  and  ceremonies,  and  have  them  filled  with  live,  happy 
people.  The  speaker  continued  in  this  strain  for  some  time,  and 
urged  his  hearers  to  come  to  Christ  and  be  happy.  When  they 
did  so  they  would  continually  praise  Him  for  His  goodness. 

Mr.  Moody  then  gave  out  the  25th  hymn,  which  was  sung  by 
the  choir  and  the  entire  congregation,  led  by  Mr.  Sankey.  The 
people  seemed  to  be  deeply  impressed  with  it,  and  such  whole- 
souled  singing  by  more  than  eleven  thousand  persons  has  never 
been  heard  before  in  this  city.     It  is  in  these  words : 

We  praise  Thee,  O  God  !  for  the  Son  of  Thy  love, 
For  Jesus  who  died  and  is  now  gone  above. 

C/wrwj— Hallelujah  !  Thine  the  glory,  Hallelujah  !  Amen. 
Hallelujah  !  Thine  the  glory,  revive  us  again. 

We  praise  Thee,  O  God  !  for  Thy  spirit  of  light, 

Who  has  shown  us  our  Saviour  and  scattered  our  night 

All  glory  and  praise  to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain, 
Who  has  borne  all  our  sins  and  cleansed  every  stain 

All  glory  and  praise  to  the  God  of  all  grace. 

Who  has  bought  us,  and  sought  us,  and  guided  our  ways. 

Revive  us  agam  :  fill  each  heart  with  Thy  love  ; 
May  each  soul  be  rekindled  with  fire  from  above. 

Mr.  Sankey  next  rose  from  his  cabinet  organ,  behind  which  he 
had  rcm.iined  seated  during  the  service,  and  said:  "How  many 
prodigal  sl#i3  may  be  restored  to  their  homes  to-day  1     Tlie  rt> 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  281 

currence  of  Thanksgiving  recalls  to  my  mind  a  story  told  me  by 
a  very  dear  friend  in  Europe  of  a  prodigal  son  who  was  saved  by 
love.  A  wayward  boy  who  could  not  be  persuaded  to  do  good, 
whose  steps  were  only  evil  continually,  was  finally,  at  the  request 
of  his  brothers,  sent  into  the  street.  He  went  away,  but  on 
Thanksgiving  day  poor  John,  homesick  and  heartsick,  returned. 
HiS  father  saw  the  poor  wanderer  at  the  door,  and  received  him 
back  to  his  arms.  Then  his  brothers  again  demanded  that  the 
black  sheep  should  again  be  cast  out,  but  the  father  answered, 
'  No,  no,  my  son  John,  I'll  not  cast  thee  out ;  come,  gather  around 
our  board  to-day.'  This  overwhelming  love  was  too  much.  The 
long-lost  prodigal  wept,  the  family  knelt  with  him  and  prayed  for 
him,  and  to-day  that  boy  is  one  of  the  hardest  workers  for  Christ 
to  be  found  in  all  Europe.  A  father's  love  saved  him  I  Let  us 
remember  that.  Our  friends  may  cast  us  off,  but  our  Heavenly 
Father  will  receive  us  if  we  only  knock  at  the  door.  I  will  now 
sing  you  the  hymn  'Ninety  and  Nine.'"  Mr.  Sankey  here  took 
his  seat,  and  in  a  sweet  voice  sang  with  touching  expression  the 
words : 

"  There  were  ninety  and  nine  that  safely  lay 

In  the  shelter  of  the  fold  ; 
But  one  was  out  on  the  hills  away, 

Far  off  from  the  gates  of  gold. 
Away  on  the  mountains  wild  and  bare, 

Away  from  the  tender  Shepherd's  care  ; 
Lord,  Thou  hast  here  Thy  ninety  and  nine, 

Are  they  not  enough  for  Thee? 
But  the  Shepherd  made  answer,  'Tis  of  mine 

Has  wandered  far  away  from  me  ; 
And  although  the  road  be  rough  and  steep, 

I  go  to  the  desert  to  find  my  sheep." 

Never  was  our  National  Thanksgiving  more  perfectly  symbol- 
ized than  in  the  scene  which  yesterday  morning  gladdened  the 
eyes  of  the  Evangelists  ;:s  they  entered  the  old  Exhibition  build- 
ing at  Thirteenth  and  Market  streets  to  begin  their  early  prayer- 
meeting.     The  seemingly  limitless  auditorium,  decorated  as  it  is 


282  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

in  our  national  colors,  with  wide,  beautiful  expanses  of  pure  white 
between  the  relieving  tints,  was  almost  filled  with  eager  worsiiip- 
pers,  whose  very  glances  beamed  with  praise  and  thanksgiving, 
svhile,  with  many  a  benison  and  on  silvery  pinions,  the  light  of 
opening  day,  descending  earthward,  poured  in  a  flood  of  welcome 
through  the  glass-covered  roof  and  rested  on  the  picture  lilie  a 
dove  of  peace. 

Large  as  the  building  is  and  ample  as  the  accommodations  are, 
last  evening  every  seat  was  occupied,  and  around  the  walls  men 
were  standing.  Such  a  gathering  of  males  in  this  city  has  never 
before  been  seen,  and  it  is  a  question  whether  in  this  country  for 
such  a  purpose  there  has  ever  been  such  an  assemblage.  The 
order  was  perfect,  not  the  slightest  confusion  or  noise  was  obser- 
vable, but  all  seemed  deeply  oppressed  with  the  solemnity  of  the 
occasion.  The  stillness  was  remarkable,  and  throughout  the 
entire  evening  a  whisper,  if  made,  might  have  been  heard. 
While  doubtless  many  were  drawn  to  the  place  by  curiosity,  it 
was  also  true  that  many  more  were  there  with  an  honest  purpose 
and  with  honest  convictions.  It  has  happened  more  than  once 
that  men  who  had  no  idea  of  conversion  have  been  brought  under 
the  influence  of  the  great  revivalists,  and  such  most  likely  was 
the  case  last  night,  when  some  two  hundred  sturdy  men  fearlessly 
stood  up  in  that  mighty  assemblage  and  acknowledged  themselves 
sinners,  and  as  being  desirous  of  leading  better  lives.  The  occasion 
was  one  long  to  be  remembered,  and  could  not  but  make  a  deep 
and  lasting  impression  upon  very  many  who.  stood  back.  The 
preaching  of  IMr.  Moody  is  irresistible  in  its  effects  ;  so  plainly  is 
tiie  teaching  of  the  Saviour  made,  and  so  convincing  is  his  argu- 
ment in  behalf  of  tiie  religion  of  Christ  and  the  great  necessity 
of  turning  away  from  the  paths  of  vice,  that  before  a  person  is 
aware  of  it,  he  is  unconsciously  forced  to  make  a  public  confes- 
sion of  his  sinfulness  and  his  desire  to  lead  the  life  of  a  Chr'slian. 
Greater  Interest  could  not  have  been  manifested  than  was  last 
evening,  and  a  more  respectful  hearing  could  not  have  been 
accorded  to  any  preacher. 

"Go*"  said  he;  '-go  to  some  hovel  where  a  drunkard  reels  to 


MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  283 

even'  day.  See  the  children  run  away  and  hide  in  terror  when 
the  b<.^sotted  father  staggers  up  the  hill;  see  the  pale,  haggard- 
faced  wife  tremble  ;  she  bears  many  a  scar  made  by  that  strong 
right  arm  on  that  defenceless  body.  Such  a  man  may  be  here  to- 
day. He  may  repent  at  last  and  secure  the  Lord  Jesus.  Then, 
in  a  little  while,  see  what  a  change !  The  little  children  will 
climb  on  his  knee  and  clasp  their  loving  arms  about  his  neck ; 
the  wife  will  wear  a  happy  smile,  and  instead  of  the  drunken 
song,  you  will  hear : 

"  'There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood,' 

or  perhaps  he  will  remember  a  hymn  his  sainted  mother  taught 
him,  and  on  the  evening  air  will  come  the  words  : 

" '  Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  mc, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee.' 

"That  is  what  I  call  regeneration.  May  the  spirit  of  prayer 
come  on  this  assembly  this  afternoon.  You  may  see  many  king- 
doms, but  except  you  be  born  again  you  will  never  see  the  Kingr 
dom  of  God.  You  may  travel  through  your  own  country,  and  in 
California  stand  in  awe  before  the  great  trees  at  which  so  many 
have  wondered,  but  except  you  be  born  again  you  can  never  see 
the  tree  of  life  which  stands  in  the  paradise  of  God.  You  may 
stand  on  the  banks  of  many  mighty  rivers,  but  except  you  be 
born  again  you  never  can  see  the  river  that  bursts  from  the 
Throne  of  God  and  runs  through  His  Kingdom.  You  may  look 
with  pleasure  upon  the  jewelled  crowns  of  the  earth,  but  unless 
you  be  born  again  you  cannot  see  the  Crown  of  Life.  You  may 
meet  with  princes  in  this  world,  but  except  you  be  born  again 
you  cannot  meet  the  Prince  of  Peace.  A  few  years  ago  I  met 
with  a  man  who  seemed  happy  and  yet  very,  very  lonesome. 
*  Have  you  no  children  ? '  I  asked.  '  Yes,'  was  the  reply,  '  I 
have  o.ie — in  heaven.'  He  then  showed  me  the  picture  of  a 
beautiful  child,  about  seven  years  of  age,  and  said,  '  I  am  glad 
she  is  in  heaven,  for  while  she  lived  I  worshipped  her,  and  when 
she  was  taken  from  me  I  almost  cursed  my  Maker,  for  I  was  a 


SS4  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

cursing  man.  And  when  I  was  still  in  this  terrible  mood  I 
threw  myself  on  the  bed  and  at  last  I  slept,  and  dreamed,  I  sup- 
pose, though  it  may  have  been  a  vision.  I  thought  I  was  travel- 
ing along  a  desert  waste,  and  at  length  came  to  a  dark,  fathomless 
river.  I  thought  I  heard  the  voice  of  my  darling  calling, 
"  Father,  come  over  ;  its  beautiful  over  here."  Then  I  saw  my 
precious  one  amid  a  choir  of  heavenly  beings,  and  she  kept  on 
beckoning  to  me  until  I  attempted  to  cross,  but  found  I  could 
not  ford  the  stream.  While  I  was  looking  for  some  way  to  get 
over,  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying,  "  I  am  the  Way,  the 
Truth,  and  the  Life."  I  awoke  a  changed  man,  and  now  only 
live  to  meet  her  in  that  heavenly  sphere  where  death  can  never 
again  come.  If  my  little  one  had  lived  I  might  have  led  her 
astray,  but  she  is  safe  now,  and  I  believe  that  a  kind  Father  wili 
let  me  follow  her.'  Oh  !  how  many  of  you,"  said  Mr.  Moody  in 
conclusion,  "  have  little  ones  beckoning  to  you  from  the  other 
side  of  the  river  of  death  ?  Have  you  children,  husbands,  wives, 
brothers,  sisters,  godly  fathers,  or  sainted  mothers  in  the  land  to 
dhme .?  Only  go  to  God,  be  born  again,  and  meet  them  in  the 
Kingdom  of  God*'  At  the  conclusion  of  the  sermon,  Mr.  Moody 
called  upon  those  who  desired  to  be  prayed  for  to  stand  up,  and 
fully  two  thousand  rose  to  their  feet,  and  stood  with  bowed  heads 
and  glistening  eyes  v/hile  the  leader  offered  up  a  fervent  suppli- 
cation in  their  behalf. 

Charles  M.  Morton,  of  Plymouth  Bethel,  Brooklyn,  then  made 
a  brief  address,  relating  an  incident  of  the  recent  meetings  in 
Brooklyn,  the  reclamation  of  a  man  whose  home  had  been  broken 
up  by  intemperance.  When  the  man  had  been  converted  he 
came  to  the  speaker  one  day  and  said,  "  I  have  got  back  my 
home,  my  friends,  my  wife  and  my  children,  but  something  that 
my  little  girl  said  last  night  made  me  cry.  She  ran  up  to  me, 
and,  throwing  her  arms  around  me,  said,  *  Papa,  you  don't  stag- 
ger any  more  now.'  "  Now  it  is  just  so  with  Christians  when 
they  get  the  Word  of  God  in  the  heart ;  they  don't  stagger  any 
more. 

Hon,  S.  Farwcll,  of  Chicago,  spoke  of  some  special  meetings 


MOODY    AND    SANKKY    IN    AMERICA.  285 

now  teing  held  in  Central  Illinois,  and  said  the  workers  in  his 
State  weie  listening  for  the  key-note  from  tlie  City  of  Brotherly 
Love,  and  were  anxious  for  an  interest  in  their  prayers  at  one  of 
the  meetings  in  Mason,  Illinois.  I'he  first  convert  was  the  leader 
of  a  company  of  actors  who  had  been  a  few  evenings  before  per- 
forming in  the  same  hall  in  which  the  meeting  was  held.  He 
was  an  intelligent,  highly  educated  man,  and  is  now  preaching 
the  Gospel.  He  says  :  "  I  have  served  the  devil  for  thirty  years. 
I  am  fifty-one  years  okl  now.  All  my  time  and  talents  shall 
be  upon  the  Lord,"  and  one  of  the  first  things  he  told  the 
people  after  his  conversion  was  this:  "I  have  been  behind 
the  scenes.  You  don't  know  all  that  goes  on  there.  Take  my 
advice,  you  church  members  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  going 
to  theatres,  and  don't  go  there  again."  That  was  pretty  good 
preaching  for  a  first  sermon.  He  now  goes  about  the  street  read- 
ing the  New  Testament,  as  he  used  to  read  Shakespeare,  and  he 
tells  Brother  Dean  that  every  day  he  finds  new  texts  that  he 
never  knew  were  in  the  Bible  at  all.  That  might  be  the  case 
with  all  of  us,  for  the  Spirit  will  bring  all.  things  to  your  remem- 
brance whatsoever  1  have  said  unto  you. 

There  was  one  point  which  ought  to  be  mentioned  in  this  con- 
nection. It  was  a  matter  of  experience  with  him  that  very  often 
what  prevents  persons  who  are  anxious  from  finding  peace  is 
some  difficulty  in  their  business.  There  is  some  little  thing 
which  they  are  not  prepared  to  give  up.  It  was  so  with  a  young 
man  with  whom  he  was  speaking  last  night.  He  found  that  he 
was  engaged  in  the  liquor  business,  and  he  told  the  young  man 
that  unless  he  was  prepared  to  give  that  up  he  would  not  have 
peace. 

M'.  Moody  spoke  on  the  prayers  of  Jesus,  and  said  He  was 
the  example,  for  He  was  praying  all  the  night  before  He  chose 
the  twelve  Apostles  ;  and  on  every  occasion  where  there  was  a 
special  communication  to  Him  from  His  Father  in  heaven,  it  came 
in  answer  to  prayers.  What  we  need  is  more  of  the  praying 
spirit.,  that  ill  who  come  to  these  meetings  maybe  reached  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.     Even  those  who  are  unable  to  get  into  the  meet- 


286  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

ings  are  sometimes  in  that  way  led  to  a  spirit  of  reflection.  A 
man  came  to  one  of  the  services  and  found  the  door  closed,  and 
the  words  of  Scripture  rushed  upon  his  mind,  "  And  the  door 
was  shut."  He  said,  "What  if  the  door  of  Heaven  should  be 
shut?"  and  was  led  to  serious  consideration,  which  resulted  in 
his  conversion.  A  lady  in  Brooklyn  had  been  praying  that  her 
son  might  attend  the  meetings.  She  had  tried  to  persuade  him, 
but  he  had  refused.  On  the  last  of  the  services  there,  the  young 
man  thought  he  would*  go  to  the  Tabernacle  for  the  afternoon 
meeting.  He  found  the  gates  locked,  the  building  being  full. 
He  went  into  the  overflow  meeting,  and  heard  Mr.  Needham. 
That  afternoon  he  was  converted,  and  his  mother's  prayers  were 
answered.  There  is  nothing  for  which  we  may  not  pray.  Jesus 
prayed  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus  ;  and  we  may  bring  our  dead  sons 
and  daughters  to  Christ  that  He  may  give  them  spiritual  life. 

Rev.  Dr.  Newton  said  he  wanted  to  relate  an  incident  which 
had  been  revived  in  his  memory  by  the  observations  of  Mr. 
Moody  on  prayer.  Forty  years  ago,  said  he,  I  was  a  student 
in  a  theological  college  in  New  York,  and  was  brought  into  inti- 
macy with  a  graduate  of  West  Point  Military  Academy,  whose 
brother  was  a  fellow-student  of  mine.  The  officer  was  a  strictly 
moral  man  of  sterling  integrity,  but  not  a  Christian.  His 
brother  one  day  spoke  to  him,  and  asked  if  he  would  not  be- 
come a  Christian.  His  reply  was :  "What  more  do  you  want 
me  to  be  than  I  am  now  ? "  and  his  manner  was  such  that  the 
bi other  said  no  more,  but  determined  to  pray  for  his  conversion 
instead  of  arguing  with  him.  The  next  winter  the  officer  was 
ordered  out  West  for  frontier  service,  and  his  wife,  who  was  a 
lady  of  high  moral  character  and  great  attainments,  was,  in  con- 
sequence, temporarily  separated  from  him,  and  went  to  live  at 
Providence,  Rhode  Island.  While  she  was  there  a  great  work  of 
grace  was  progressing  in  the  parish.  She  was  among  those  who 
verc  brought  to  the  feet  of  Jesus  ;  and  after  she  was  converted, 
the  minister,  at  whose  house  she  was  staying,  asked  if  she  would 
not  join  llie  church.  She  said,  "1  can't  until  I  have  written  to 
my  husband.     I  have  never  taken  a  step  that  we  could  not  take 


MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  287 

together  since  we  were  married.  I  can't  put  a  barrier  between 
him  anil  myself  until  I  have  written  to  him  and  told  him  of  the 
change  in  my  life."  She  immediately  wrote ;  hut  before  her 
letter  reached  him  out  on  the  frontier,  he  had  written  to  her,  and 
their  letters  crossed.  He  said  that  for  several  days  he  had  a 
strange  feeling,  such  as  he  had  never  experienced  before.  He  felt 
that  he  was  unworthy  and  a  sinner,  and  that  he  needed  pardon. 
He  had  no  Bible  in  his  tent,  and  borrowed  one  from  a  comrade ; 
then  he  read  about  the  way  of  salvation,  and  found  light.  He 
said  in  his  letter  that  he  had  become  a  Christian  ;  so  when  her 
letter  reached  him,  the  wife  was  in  possession  of  the  glad  news 
that  both  were  following  Jesus.  Who  can  tell  the  joy  there  was 
in  that  family?  Although  this  occurred  many  years  ago,  and  the 
dear  fellow  to  whom  I  refer  is  now  in  heaven,  the  impression  it 
made  upon  me  will  never  be  effaced,  and  I  tell  it  to-day  because 
it  may  lead  others  to  pray  for  the  conversion  of  those  friends  who 
do  not  now  feel  their  need  of  Christ. 

After  silent  prayer  for  a  few  moments,  during  which  it  seemed 
that  every  Christian  heart  was  lifted  to  God  in  earnest  supplica- 
tion— for  the  most  solemn  stillness  prevailed  through  the  house — 
the  meeting  closed  with  the  Doxology  and  benediction. 

MEETING    FOR   DRUNKARDS. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  meetings  yet  held  by  the  evangel- 
ists in  this  city  was  that  set  apart  especially  for  the  benefit  of 
drunkards  who  had  been  unable  to  conquer  the  demon  of  alco- 
holic stimulus.  The  congregation  was  much  larger  than  on  the 
preceding  day,  and,  as  would  naturally  be  expected,  very  difTcr- 
ent  in  many  other  respects.  Several  hundreds  of  Christian 
workers,  who  have  been  regularly  attending  all  the  meetings, 
remained  away  in  order  to  leave  as  much  room  as  possible  to 
those  who  were  directly  affected  b)  the  curse  of  intemperance 
A  glance  over  the  audience  showed  a  large  number  of  temperance 
advocates  and  missionaries,  several  clergymen,  and  a  few  regular 
Christian  workers.  Almost  all  the  other  flices  were  new.  Theie 
were  old  fathers  whose  white  hairs  had  almost  been  brought  in 


288  MUDDY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

sorrow  to  the  grave  by  the  wayward  steps  of  loved  and  almost 
lost  sons ;  aged  mothers,  whose  doubly  refined  features  had  been 
pinched  by  suffering,  and  once  rosy,  smiling  lips  blanched  to 
whiteness  by  long-continued  eftbrt  to  choke  back  the  sobs  which 
will  well  up  from  hearts  wrung  by  the  anguish  of  seeing  dear 
ones  sinking  into  ruin ;  there  were  pale-faced,  loving-eyed  sisters, 
whose  young  lives  had  been  nothing  but  woe  instead  of  innocent, 
hopeful  joy,  and  whose  bright  smiles  had  long  given  place  to 
sighs  over  the  downward  course  of  some  willful  brother.  Here 
and  there  could  be  seen  the  bloated  flices  of  blear-eyed  drunk- 
ards, who  glanced  wildly  around  as  though  the  strangeness  of  the 
situation  was  so  overpowering  that  it  required  a  great  effort  of 
will  to  remain,  and  not  a  few  were  accompanied  by  mothers, 
wives,  sisters,  or,  perchance,  sweethearts,  who,  having  exhausted 
worldly  means,  had  determined  to  lay  their  burden  before  the 
Lord.  The  great  majority  of  all  those  gathered  in  the  Depot- 
Tabernacle  yesterday  afternoon  were  as  sad-faced  and  tearful- 
eyed  a  collection  of  humanity  as  it  would  be  possible  to  assemble 
in  one  place.  Those  who  had  not  directly  suffered  by  intem- 
perance grew  at  once  into  sympathy  with  the  hundreds  about 
them,  whose  heavy  sighs  told  the  stories  of  unutterable  anguish, 
and  this  influence  increased  until  a  cloud  of  terrible  depression 
seemed  to  hang  over  the  entire  congregation.  Every  class  of 
society  was  represented  in  this  throng  united  so  closely  by  such 
painful  bonds.  Close  to  the  half-starved,  long-abused,  yet  faith- 
ful wife  of  some  besotted  brute  was  seated  the  child  of  fortune 
and  culture — child  no  more,  but  an  old,  old  woman,  whose  only 
son,  still  in  his  youth,  had  fallen  almost  to  the  lowest  depths  of 
degradation.  Near  her  was  a  man,  every  lineament  of  whose 
features  was  some  index  of  nobility  of  soul  and  rare  talents,  but 
whose  threadbare  coat  and  sunken  cheeks  betrayed  to  all  gazes 
the  lifelong  victim  of  an  unconquerable  appetite.  Just  behind 
this  group  was  a  young  girl,  whose  face,  sweet  as  an  angel's,  was 
already  furrowed  by  grief.  Beside  her  was  a  father,  whom  she 
seemed  to  worship,  and  this  father,  broken  down  in  health  and 
almost  ruined  in  mind  by  the  excessive  use  of  liquor,  seemed  at 


MOODY    AND   SANKliY    IN    AMERICA.  289 

last  to  have  resigned  himself  to  hopeless  ruin.  He  gazed  about 
in  a  half-sleepy,  half-childish  way,  and  several  times  attempted  to 
get  up  and  leave  his  seat,  but  the  hand  of  the  child-woman  held 
his  very  tightly,  and  each  time  he  would  conquer  his  restlessness 
and  sit  down.  By  far  the  largest  proportion  of  the  congregation 
were  women,  almost  all  of  whom  had  evidently  clutching  at  their 
hearts  the  agonizing  image  of  some  past  or  present  experience 
with  w^oe  in  its  most  terrible  form.  As  the  exercises  proceeded 
it  was  interesting  to  note  the  change  which  gradually  came  over 
the  scene.  As  Mr.  Moody  declared  over  and  over  again  that  the 
God  who  had  once  cast  out  devils  could  do  it  now,  and  would  do 
it  if  only  asked,  and  as  fervent  supplications  for  this  Divine  inter- 
position were  made,  the  cloud  seemed  to  rise  from  all  hearts,  the 
noonday  sun  poured  in  upon  the  picture  like  blessed  rays  of 
hope ;  eyes  long  dimmed  by  tears  beamed  with  a  new  light ;  lips 
so  long  tighdy  pressed  by  anguish  smiled  with  a  new-found  joy, 
and  dissipated  faces  lost  their  reckless  look  and  becarrft  resolute 
in  the  strength  of  noble  determination.  It  is  probable  that  more 
than  one  slave  was  freed,  and  more  than  one  heart  made  happy. 

Rev.  Dr.  Newton  read  the  requests  for  prayer.  He  said  that 
as  the  day  was  set  apart  particularly  for  prayers  for  the  intem- 
perate only,  only  those  which  related  to  persons  held  by  the 
demon  of  drink  would  be  read.  Among  the  requests  were  twenty 
for  prayers  for  intemperate  husbands  ;  ten  for  drunken  fathers  ; 
twenty-five  from  sisters  for  dissipated  brothers  ;  ten  from  widows 
for  intemperate  sons  ;  one  for  a  young  man  struggling  to  over- 
come the  demon  of  drink ;  one  from  a  sister  for  three  brothers, 
one  of  them  a  hard  drinker;  one  from  a  mother  in  Scottsville 
for  an  intemperate  son  ;  from  a  friend  for  a  young  man  in  New- 
castle, England ;  from  a  friend  for  a  young  man  who  earnestly 
desires  to  reform ;  from  a  sister  (long  identified  with  Methodist 
missions)  for  an  intemperate  brother ;  from  a  Christian  for  an 
intemperate  brother-in-law  in  Richmond,  Va. ;  from  a  mother, 
whose  only  son  was  rapidly  hastening  to  ruin  ;  from  a  wife  whose 
husband  has  almost  beggared  his  family,  and  from  friends  for 
the  Woman's  Temperance  Society  of  Plymoutii  Church.     There 


290  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

were  forty  requests  for  prayers  for  tavern-keepers'  souls,  that  they 
might  be  turned  from  the  road  in  which  they  were  leading  so 
many  of  their  follows  ;  two  requests  for  intemperate  and  ungodly 
men  ;  one  against  the  sale  of  liquor  on  the  Centennial  Grounds ; 
one  from  a  wife  for  a  husband,  one  from  a  father  whose  son, 
once  a  professor  of  religion,  was  now  hurrying  on  to  destruction ; 
one  from  a  mother  who  desired  prayers  for  a  drunken  husband 
and  son ;  one  from  a  Christian  lady  whose  intemperate  husband 
had  come  to  believe  that  not  even  God  could  save  him  from  him- 
self; another  from  a  sister  for  a  dissipated  brother ;  another  from 
a  mother  for  a  son  who  is  addicted  to  the  use  of  intoxicating 
drinks  ;  a  doctor  in  Massachusetts  desired  prayers  for  himself— 
he  had  long  been  striving  in  vain  to  overcome  the  habit,  and  now 
asked  for  higher  aid.  Prayers  w^ere  also  requested  for  a  brother 
who  was  once  a  professed  Christian,  but  who  now  made  the  hearts 
of  his  friends  heavy  by  yielding  to  temptation ;  a  mother  re- 
quested prayers  for  four  children,  one  of  whom  was  addicted  to 
the  use  of  wine.  Prayers  were  asked  for  God's  blessing  on  the 
Woman's  Temperance  Society  and  their  "  Home  for  Inebriate 
Women  ; "  also,  for  the  "  Franklin  Reformatory  Home."  A  wife 
and  daughter  requested  prayer  for  a  father  in  the  liquor  business. 
Prayers  were  requested  for  four  intemperate  men,  three  of  whom 
were  the  sons  of  three  deceased  elders  in  one  Presbyterian 
church,  and  for  three  intemperate  brothers,  the  sons  of  a  minis- 
ter. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  Wheaton  Smith  also  offered  a  fervent  prayer  for 
the  salvation  of  those  who  were  unable  to  take  even  the  first  step 
towards  saving  themselves.  He  asked  for  comfort  for  aged 
hearts,  for  wives  and  daughters  and  sisters,  so  that  they  could 
feel  to-day  the  joy  of  thanksgiving,  and  asked  special  blessing  on 
those  who  were  engaged  in  the  unhallowed  traffic,  that  they  should 
be  taught  that  all  happiness  on  earth  or  in  heaven  would  be  lost 
if  they  should  continue  in  their  present  course. 

The  congregation  then  rose,  and  with  heartfelt  earnestness 
translated  into  the  harmonics  of  sound  the  words  of  the  3d 
hymn : 


MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  29I 

"  I  need  Thee  every  hour, 
Most  gracious  Lord  ; 
No  tender  voice  like  Thine 
Can  peace  afTord." 

^Ir.  Sankey  stopped  the  singing  at  the  third  verse  and  said : 
*'  Now  we  should  like  to  hear  every  one  in  the  house  who  believe 
that  they  do  need  the  Lord  join  in  that  chorus  : " 

"  I  need  Thee,  oh  !  I  need  Thee, 
Every  hour  I  need  Thee  ; 
Oh !  bless  me  now,  my  Saviour, 
I  come  to  Thee." 

Thus  adjured,  every  voice  seemed  to  combine  with  every  other 
to  fill  the  grand  auditorium  with  the  musical  reverberations  of  the 
beautiful  supplication,  and  the  waves  of  harmony  rolled  mountain 
high  through  the  seemingly  limitless  structure. 

The  secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  Mr. 
Cree,  spoke  of  the  case  of  a  drunkard  who  had  come  into  his 
office  and  asked  special  prayers  for  strength  to  resist  temptation. 

Another  case  was  mentioned  of  a  poor  man  who  came  into  the 
inquiry-room  with  a  heart  almost  breaking,  and  said  he  wanted 
the  people  to  pray  for  him,  but  could  not  write  a  line,  and  was 
consequently  unable  to  send  in  a  request  without  help.  It  was 
also  requested  that  prayer  be  offered  for  an  unworthy  son,  who 
had  for  years  resisted  every  effort  to  bring  him  into  the  right  way, 
and  also  for  his  companion,  with  whom  he  had  becom<e  united 
within  a  few  weeks.  Rev.  Dr.  Hatfield,  in  referring  to  the  course 
of  intemperance,  said  there  was,  humanly  speaking,  no  hope  for 
a  drunkard.  Only  in  rare  instances  could  the  victim  of  alcoholic 
stimulants  be  saved.  But  nothing  was  too  hard  for  God  to  ac- 
complish, and  he  wanted  his  hearers  to  try  and  have  faith  in  what 
seemed  an  utter  impossibility.  At  one  time  the  speaker  could 
not  force  himself  to  have  full  faith,  but  a  number  of  instances 
which  had  since  been  brought  to  his  attention,  had  proved  to 
him  how  weak  had  been  his  confidence  in  God.  One  of  these 
instances  was  the  case  of  a  man  who  was  so  completely  ruined 


292  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

by  drink  that  when  at  last  he  showed  some  sign  of  repentance 
the  speaker  thought  he  must  have  some  evil  design.  But  the 
man  was  prayed  for  again  and  again,  and  these  prayers  were  an- 
swered, for  he  has  been  a  sober,  industrious,  respectable  citizen  for 
the  last  eighteen  years.  "  Father  "  Martin  next  offered  a  prayer 
for  the  salvation  of  drunkards.  Mr.  Moody  said  he  noticed  an 
aged  man  the  evening  before  urging  a  young  man  to  go  into  the 
inquiry-room.  Afterward,  when  he  went  into  the  room,  he  met 
that  flither  and  the  youth  together  and  prayed  with  them.  The 
old  man,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  then  said :  "  Mr.  Moody,  I  live 
twenty  miles  out  in  the  country,  and  came  all  the  way  here  to- 
night to  thank  you  ;  for  this  afternoon  I  received  a  letter  from  my 
son,  who  has  been  attending  these  meetings,  and  is  now  con- 
verted." *'  Is  this  young  man  also  your  son  ? "  asked  the  speaker. 
"  No,"  was  the  unexpected  reply ;  "  he  is  a  stranger  to  me." 
"This,"  continued  Mr.  Moody,  "was  the  most  beautiful  part  of 
it.  The  old  man  had  come  to  thank  us  for  assisting  in  his  son's 
conversion,  and  had  seized  the  opportunity  to  urge  some  other 
man's  son  to  seek  the  Lord.  Now  we  ought  to  lift  our  eyes  above 
all  human  belief,  and  remember  that  Christ  has  the  power  to  help 
every  one  who  asks  for  his  divine  aid.  But  some  say,  *  It  has 
become  a  disease  with  me;  I  can't  help  myself;  my  soul  don't 
need  a  physician  ;  it  is  my  body  that  is  sick.'  But  don't  you 
suppose  Christ  can  heal  the  body.?  He  has  power  over  disease. 
The  Great  Physician  never  fails.  Some  mothers  say,  *  My  son  is 
dead  to  everything  that  is  pure;  dead  to  everything  that's  holy.' 
You  remember  the  child  that  was  dead  and  Christ  raised  it  up 
when  asked  to  do  it .?  You  will  find  him  able  to  raise  up  any 
child  of  the  flesh,  whether  deid  or  not.  Christ  has  power  over 
devils,  over  disease,  and  over  death.  In  London  I  -saw  a  great 
many  incurable  hospitals.  They  did  not  need  anything  of  the 
kind  when  Christ  was  on  earth.  No  case  was  incurable  then. 
Now  let  us  pray  that  he  will  cure  this  disease  of  drunkenness. 

"  Our  Heavenly  Father,  we  thank  Thee  for  such  a  Saviour  as 
Ihou  hast  sent,  and  now  we  come  to-day  to  ask  that  Thou  wilt 
rebuke   the   devila'  who  have   takea  possession   of  fathers,  and 


MOODY    AND    SAN  KEY    IN    AM  I.RICA. 


293 


brothers,  and  sons,  and  cast  them  out;  make  bare  Thine  arm  to 
save  these  drunkards ;  bless  these  strangers  who  have  come  to 
us  to-day.  They  are  strangers  to  us,  but  not  strangers  to  Thee ; 
Heavenly  Father,  help  them,  raise  them,  so  that  soon  a  band  of 
men  who  are  now  the  slaves  of  strong  drink  may  be  working  for 
His  glory.  While  the  infidels  are  mocking  and  scoffing  and  saying, 
*  God  cannot  save  drunkards,'  O  God  !  make  bare  Thine  arm  and 
show  them  Thy  strength;  show  them  that  God  can  save  the 
lowest  drunkards,  and  it  will  be  to  Thy  great  glory.  Amen." 
The  56th  hymn  was  then  sung  as  follows : 

"  The  great  Physician  now  is  near, 
The  sympathizing  Jesus ; 
He  speaks  the  drooping  heart  to  cheer, 
Oh  !  hear  the  voice  of  Jesus. 

Chorus — Sweetest  note  in  seraph  song, 

Sweetest  name  on  mortal  tongue, 
Sweetest  carol  ever  sung, 
Jesus,  blessed  Jesus !" 

Rev.  Dr.  Breed  arose  and  said  he  had  long  felt  the  stronger! 
sympathy  for  those  who  were  suffering  from  that  particular  evil, 
and  he  knew  there  was  not  a  minister  living  who  did  not  feel  in 
the  same  way.  In  all  such  cases  the  man  was  still  the  same.  It 
was  only  the  appetite  which  was  unconquerable.  All  had  heard 
of  the  member  of  Congress,  who,  when  asked  to  sign  the  pledge, 
said,  "Sign  it,  yes;  and  then  I  would  cut  off  my  right  hand  if 
that  would  compel  me  to  keep  it."  Don't  think  there  was  no 
hope.  A  lady  of  this  city,  who  once  had  a  drunken  father,  many 
and  many  a  time  had  gone  out  to  look  for  him  at  night,  and,  find- 
ing him  in  some  saloon,  would  stand  in  the  cold  and  snow  until 
he  came  out.  The  touch  of  her  hand  would  turn  him,  and  he 
would  follow  her  staggering  to  their  home.  One  evening,  while 
the  keen  winds  of  winter  swept  down  every  street,  and  a  freezing 
sleet  covered  everything  with  a  coat  of  ice,  she  attempted  in  the 
same  way  to  lead  him  home,  but  he  staggered  and  fell  on  the 
pavement.     She  bent  over  him,  trying  to  revive  him,  and  when  he 


294  MOODY   AND   SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

returned  to  consciousness  her  hair  was  frozen  to  his  lips.  She 
succeeded  in  getting  him  home  alive,  and  in  less  than  one  month 
afterwards  he  completely  reformed.  A  converted  rum-seller  in 
the  audience  then  arose  and  said  he  was  once  a  dealer  in  the 
accursed  stuff,  but  now  thanked  God  that  he  would  never  again 
touch  the  hell-distilled  fluid  or  raise  it  to  the  lips  of  a  brother.  Rev. 
Dr.  Newton  prayed  earnestly  that  all  who  were  struggling  for  sal- 
vation might  be  saved  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that 
those  who  had  sunk  so  low  that  they  had  no  desire  to  rise  might 
be  brought  to  see  the  terrible  error  of  their  ways  and  helped  to 
redeem  themselves  before  it  was  too  late.  The  congregation 
then  united  in  singing  the  89th  hymn : 

*'  Yield  not  to  temptation, 

For  yielding  is  sin  ; 
Each  victory  will  help  you 

Some  other  to  win. 
Fight  manfully  onward. 

Dark  passions  subdue, 
Look  ever  to  Jesus, 

He'll  carry  you  through. 

Chorus — Ask  the  Saviour  to  help  you, 

Comfort,  strengthen,  and  keep  you; 
He  is  willing  to  aid  you, 
He  will  carry  you  through." 

This  hymn  was  sung  with  a  will,  all  joining  most  heartily  in 
the  chorus.  It  was  then  announced  by  Mr.  Moody  that  another 
meeting  of  the  same  character  would  be  held  next  Fridoy  noon, 
and  the  meeting  adjourned. 

Mr.  Sankey,  with  all  his  enthusiastic  love  of  the  Fatherj  for 
whose  worship  all  hymns  were  written,  never  forgets  that  flesh  is 
very  weak,  and  must  be  helped  by  all  the  means  which  can  be 
provided.  He  therefore  usually  selects  hymns  for  the  opening 
praise  with  a  light,  joyous  melody,  which  soon  brings  all  hearts 
into  sympathy,  so  that,  as  the  sen'ices  proceed,  the  majestic 
movement  and  grand  harmonies  of  familiar  long-metre  hymns  do 


MOODY   AND   SANKEY   IN   AMERICA.  295 

not  roll  ineffectively  around  souls  still  insensible  from  worldly 
influence,  but  sweep  in  resistless  waves  of  music  along  the  ten- 
derest  chords  of  the  human  heart,  lifting  the  soul  far  above  the 
burden  of  clay  which  weighs  it  to  the  earth. 

When  a  meeting  is  held  specially  for  young  men,  it  is  always 
better  that  those  for  whom  it  is  intended  should  take  the  most 
prominent  part  in  the  exercises ;  but  every  one  who  has  had  the 
management  of  such  gatherings  will  readily  appreciate  the  diffi- 
culty that  is  always  experienced  in  carrying  this  rule  into  practice. 
What  is  needed  to  make  young  men's  meetings  full  of  interest  and 
productive  of  benefit  is  short  addresses,  prayers,  and  little  crumbs 
of  experience  incident  to  a  young  man's  life ;  and  when  twenty  or 
thirty  participate  within  an  hour,  each  contributing  to  the  spiritu- 
ality of  the  occasion,  there  never  need  be  any  fear  of  a  dull  meet- 
ing. A  word  of  encouragement  from  an  old  Christian,  who  has  a 
young  heart,  is  always  welcome  and  beneficial ;  but  when  the 
aged  brethren  monopolize  three-fourths  of  the  time,  as  is  some- 
times the  case,  with  long,  prosy,  and  wearisome  sermonizing,  all 
the  soul  of  the  meeting  is  effectually  stamped  out,  and  the  time 
is,  of  course,  then  wasted. 

Throughout  the  series  of  deeply  interesting  gatherings  of  young 
men,  held  in  the  North  Reformed  Church,  Brooklyn,  under  the 
excellent  superintendence  of  Charles  M.  Morton,  this  difficulty 
was  not  unfrequently  encountered ;  and  the  same  evil  began  to 
show  itself  in  the  meetings  held  here  nightly. 

A  happy  suggestion  was,  however,  made  and  acted  upon. 
Mr.  Moody  announced  on  Sunday  that  the  following  evening  a 
fathers'  meeting  would  be  commenced  at  Dr.  McCook's  church, 
Penn  Square;  "and  henceforth,"  said  he,  "nobody  over  forty 
J  ears  of  age  will  be  admitted  to  the  3^oung  men's  meeting.  I  put 
the  limit  at  forty,  because  that  will  just  allow  me  to  go  there  when 
I  want."  The  fathers'  meeting  was  accord  ngly  held  on  Monday 
night,  and  last  evening  it  developed  into  a  parents'  meeting,  both 
fathers  and  mothers  being  invited  to  attend  for  prayer  and  con- 
versation in  regard  to  the  conversion  of  their  children.  Mr.  John 
Field  has  been  chosen  as  the  leader;  and  it  seems  likely  that 


29^  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

this  new  feature  will  speedily  become  one  of  the  most  important 
auxiliaries  of  the  revival  work.  The  leader  last  evening  delivered 
a  brief  but  very  impressive  address,  relating  an  incident  con- 
nected with  his  own  personal  history  which  touched  every  heart ; 
then  the  meeting  was  opened  for  prayer  and  short  testimonies, 
many  petitions  being  offered  for  unconverted  parents  and  children 
out  of  the  ark  of  safety. 

Said  Mr.  Moody:  "I  was  never  more  shocked  than  on  one 
occasion  when  a  father  said  to  his  son,  after  he  had  returned 
from  a  meeting  of  this  kind  where  he  had  given  his  heart :  '  My 
son,  I  always  hoped  that  you  would  become  established  in  busi- 
ness before  you  gave  attention  to  matters  of  religion ; '  but  I  don't 
believe  one  father  out  of  ten  millions  would  say  such  a  thing  as 
that.  It  is  better  to  go  up  to  heaven  from  the  poor-house  than  to 
go  down  to  hell  in  a  gilded  chariot.  What  is  there  to  be  gained 
by  losing  your  soul  and  thinking  only  all  the  time  of  riches  ? "  The 
speaker  said  that  he  would  rather  lose  his  eyes  ten  thousand 
times  over  than  to  lose  his  soul.  He  then  narrated  an  incident 
of  a  little  child  who  had  been  run  over  and  killed,  and  the  news 
was  taken  to  the  father  by  the  superintendent  of  a  Sunday-school 
in  Chicago,  and  when  the  superintendent  told  the  father  he  arose 
like  a  wild  man  and  rushed  to  the  mother,  and  she  cried  out  to 
be  taken  to  see  the  child ;  but  the  good  man  told  her  that  the 
child's  body  was  so  mangled  that  it  could  not  be  recognized  by 
her.  The  superintendent  said  to  Mr.  Moody  that  he  would  rather 
do  anything  again  than  to  bear  such  news  to  a  family  and  witness 
such  a  sight.  The  speaker  said  that  it  would  be  better  to  lose 
everything  than  lose  your  own  souls.  The  little  child  went  to 
heaven;  it  would  be  far  worse  to  have  borne  the  news  that  their 
little  child's  soul  had  been  lost.  Let  the  news  go  up  to  heaven  to- 
night, "  Saved."  Strive  to  enter  heaven  by  the  straight  way.  A 
man  has  but  to  will  to  do  a  thing,  and  it  will  be  done.  God  has 
done  all  he  can  for  you.  He  has  sent  his  only  Son  to  save  you, 
and  if  you  will  to  be  saved  you  will  find  comfort,  peace,  and  hap- 
piness. It  is  for  you  to  decide  to  night  whether  you  will  serve 
the  Lord  or  will   take  the  side   of  Satan.      Since   the   fall   of 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  397 

Adam,  Satan  has  been  an  usurper;  he  has  no  right  to  this 
world.  The  Son  of  man  has  come  to  seek  and  save ;  he  is  here 
now  to  seek  and  save.  Are  you  \\illin<^  to  be  saved  now?  No 
matter  how  dark  and  deep  your  sins  may  be.  He  can  pardon 
your  sins  if  you  will  only  come  to  him.  Christ  comes  to  you  to* 
night  to  carry  you  over  the  dark  river,  if  you  will  only  let  him. 
Sinners,  won't  you  come  to  Jesus  to-night.^ 

Meeting  for  Women. 

The  afternoon  service,  which  was  exclusively  for  women,  may 
be  said  to  have  commenced  the  actual  work  of  the  revival.  The 
meeting  was  one  never  to  be  forgotten  by  any  who  were  present. 
At  two  o'clock  the  doors  were  thrown  open,  and  the  crowds  be- 
gan to  pour  in  until  before  half-past  three  all  available  space  was 
crowded.  More  than  eleven  thousand  women  gathered  at  this 
religious  service,  the  ushers  and  reporters  being  the  only  men 
allowed  on  the  main  floor.  By  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  occu- 
pants of  the  platform  were  ladies  representing  the  upper  and 
middle  classes,  while  here  and  there  could  be  seen  poverty- 
stricken  needle- women  who  in  their  battle  for  life  had  been  unable 
to  find  time  to  think  of  the  life  to  come.  Fully  three  hundred 
members  of  the  combination  choir  were  in  their  seats,  and  on  the 
stage  were  many  prominent  clergymen.  Said  the  evangelist: 
"  You  have  seen  the  murderer  before  the  court  of  justice.  If  he 
had  a  mother  she  was  there  with  him.  She  was  not  ashamed  of 
him,  but  would  say,  '  Guilty  or  not  guilty,  he  is  my  boy,  and  I 
Jove  him.'  How  such  a  mother  clings  to  her  son's  side  every 
moment  possible !  How  she  watches  every  witness  who  comes 
to  testify  against  her  own  !  How  she  weeps  and  prays  with  him 
in  his  narrow  cell,  and  when  at  last  the  verdict  comes  in  'guilty,' 
the  loving  heart-strings  break  at  last,  and  the  mother  is  carried 
fainting,  almost  dead,  from  the  room.  But  her  boy  still  lives  for 
a  few  hours,  and  she  comes  back.  She  follows  him  to  the  scaf- 
fold, and  sutfers  a  thousand  deaths  while  he  is  suffering  one.' 
At  this  point  the  loud  sobbing  of  a  woman  in  the  audience  b& 


298  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

came  so  painful  that  for  a  moment  the  speaker  could  not  proceed. 
Recovering  himself,  he  said :  "  Such  is  a  mother's  love,  and  yet 
your  Heavenly  Father  loves  you  more  dearly,  more  devotedly 
than  a  mother  ever  can."  All  who  desired  to  be  prayed  for  were 
then  requested  to  rise,  and  at  least  three  thousand  persons 
stood  up. 

Inquiry-Meetings. 

Mr.  Moody  then  arose  and  said :  "  I  want  to  say  a  few  words 
to  you  to-day  about  the  inquiiy-rooms.  Many  persons  talk  about 
Uiem  as  though  they  were  something  new,  and  ask  what  is  the 
object  of  such  places  ?  We  have  been  much  hindered  in  our 
work  by  people  who,  night  after  night,  come  as  spectators,  as 
though  we  were  all  on  exhibition.  I  think  it  is  very  strange  that 
any  Christian  should  not  understand  the  object  of  inquiry-meet- 
jigs,  for  they  are  not  an  innovation.  Look  at  the  third  chapter 
of  Luke  and  at  the  ninth  verse  :  *And  now  also  the  axe  is  laid  at 
the  root  of  the  trees ;  every  tree  therefore  which  bringeth  not 
forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down  and  cast  into  the  fire.  And  the 
people  asked  Him,  saying,  What  shall  we  do  then  ? '  Then  there 
was  an  inquiry-meeting  at  once.  The  people  became  anxious 
about  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  and  wanted  to  know  what  they 
should  do  to  be  saved.  '  He  answercth  and  saith  unto  them,  He 
that  hath  two  coats,  let  him  impart  to  him  that  hath  none; 
and  he  that  hath  meat,  let  him  do  likewise.'  That  was  an  in- 
quiry-meeting. All  the  people  wanted  was  a  little  advice,  and 
that  was  given  them.  *  Then  came  also  publicans  to  be  baptized, 
and  said  unto  Him,  Master,  what  shall  we  do  ?  And  He 
said  unto  them.  Exact  no  more  than  that  which  is  appointed  you.' 
That  was  another  inquiry-meeting.  'And  the  soldiers  likewise 
demanded  of  Him,  saying,  And  what  shall  we  do?  And  He  said 
unto  them,  Do  violence  to  no  man,  neither  accuse  any  falsely; 
and  be  content  with  your  wages.'  You  see  all  classes  of  hearers 
were  asking,  'What  shall  we  do?'  They  were  given  special  an- 
swers for  special  cases,  and  that  constituted  an  inquiry-meeting. 
Even   John   could   not   preach  so  plainly  but  that  his  hearers 


MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  299 

wanted  more  expounding.  The  object  of  inquir)--nieeti/)gs  is  to 
answer  those  who  have  special  questions  to  ask.  Many  persons 
may  be  affected  by  a  good  sermon  or  touched  by  a  fervent 
prayer,  but  each  one  may  have  peculiar  difficulties  to  overcome, 
and  unless  these  can  be  presented  to  some  Christian  who,  having 
been  through  the  same  trials,  can  advise  how  to  get  rid  of  them, 
even  the  most  anxious  souls  may  go  away  discouraged,  and,  what 
is  worse,  remain  away.  In  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Matthew  we 
read,  '  Now  Jesus  sent  the  multitude  away  and  went  into  the 
house ;  and  His  disciples  came  unto  Him,  saying,  Declare  unto 
us  the  parable  of  the  tares  of  the  field.  There  was  another  in- 
quiry-meeting at  once.  Even  the  faithful  disciples  of  Jesus  had 
questions  to  ask  as  soon  as  opportunity  offered.  In  the  fifty-first 
verse  we  find  that  the  Master  himself  opened  an  inquiry-meeting, 
for  it  says :  '  Jesus  saith  unto  them.  Have  ye  understood  all 
these  things  }  They  say  unto  Him,  Yea,  Lord.'  There,  you  see, 
He  was  encouraging  them  to  make  inquiry.  This  is  the  only 
way  the  Truth  can  be  preached  and  be  made  effective.  We  must 
get  right  in  among  the  people  and  answer  the  numberless  ques- 
tions which  confuse  groping  minds  if  we  wish  to  bring  souls  to 
Christ.  If  there  were  more  inquiry-rooms  there  would  be  more 
effective  preaching.  In  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  Matthew  we 
read-  'Then  came  Peter  unto  Him  and  said.  Lord,  how  oft  shall 
my  brother  sin  against  me  and  I  forgive  him .?  till  seven  times  ? ' 
This  was  an  inquiry-meeting  started  by  Peter,  and  it  is  a  very 
good  thing  that  Peter  went  to  the  Lord  with  that  question,  fo- 
otherwise  we  never  would  have  had  this  blessed  answer :  '  Jesu^ 
saith  unto  him,  I  say  not  unto  thee,  Until  seven  times ;  but, 
Until  seventy  times  seven.'  Christ  always  encouraged  His  fol- 
lowers to  come  to  Him,  and  He  was  always  ready  to  answer 
their  inquiries.  The  preaching  that  docs  bring  inquirers  is  just 
the  kind  the  devil  does  not  want. 

"  Another  inquiry-meeting  is  told  of  in  the  19th  chapter  of 
Matthew:  'And  behold,  one  came  and  said  unto  Him,  Good 
Master,  what  good  thing  shall  I  do  that  I  may  have  eternal  life?' 
In  the  24th  chapter  of  Matthew,  still  another  inquiry-meeting  is 


300  MOUUY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

spoken  of:  'And  as  He  sat  upon  the  Mount  of  Olives,  the  dis- 
ciples  came  unto  Him  privately,  saying,  Tell  us  when  shall  these 
things  be  ?  and  what  shall  be  the  sign  of  Thy  coming,  and  of  the 
end  of  the  world?'  These  all  show  how  they  used  to  have  in- 
quiry-meetings in  the  days  of  Christ.  In  the  2d  chapter  of  the 
Acts  we  read :  '  Now  when  they  heard  this,  they  were  pricked 
in  their  heart  and  said  unto  Peter  and  to  the  rest  of  the  Apostles, 
Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do?  Then  Peter  said  unto 
them,  Repent  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.'  In  the  8th  chapter  of  the  Acts  we  hear 
of  an  inquiry-meeting  that  did  not  take  place  after  a  sermon  or 
in  church,  but  way  off  in  the  desert.  Philip  found  a  poor  eunuch 
out  in  the  desert  and  quieted  his  anxious  spirit  by  telling  him  it 
was  only  necessary  to  believe  in  order  to  be  saved.  The  eunuch 
was  baptized,  and  went  on  his  way  rejoicing.  The  Bible  is  full 
of  accounts  of  inquiry-meetings.  While  Paul  was  at  Rome  there 
was  at  all  times  anxious  persons  hastening  to  his  house  and  in- 
quiring, 'What  shall  we  do  to  be  saved?'  They  did  not  go 
there  to  kiss  Paul's  great  toe,  but  to  find  the  way  of  life.  Some 
people  say  you  should  not  speak  to  persons  after  they  have  been 
listening  to  a  good  sermon,  for  you  may  disturb  the  seed  already 
sown.  Don't  you  know  it's  the  devil  who  is  most  apt  to  disturb 
the  seed  ?  We  should  not  only  sow  it,  but  harrow  it  down. 
All  the  workers  in  the  inquiry-rooms  should  carry  their  Bibles  and 
have  them  ready  for  just  such  cases.  When  the  inquirer  is  seek- 
ing for  light,  you  need  not  talk  to  him ;  hold  up  just  the  right 
passage  from  the  Scripture  and  let  him  read  it.  The  third  class 
are  those  who  are  not  convicted  of  sin.  I  met  a  man  last  even- 
ing who  acknowledged  that  he  had  not  been  in  a  place  of  worship 
for  eight  years,  but  still  he  was  very  anxious  to  have  me  under- 
stand that  he  was  not  a  bad  man,  though  he  did  admit  that  now 
and  then,  wiien  he  became  angry,  he  would  swear.  Now  I  knew 
the  only  way  to  do  in  his  case  was  to  get  the  law  on  him.  So  I 
turned  to  the  3d  cliapter  of  Romans  and  read  to  him:  'And  it 
is  written,  there  is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one.'     Then  I  turned 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  30I 

to  Isaiah  and  showed  him  that  the  thoughts  of  the  Lord  could  not 
be  his.  The  only  way  to  convict  a  man  is  to  bring  the  law  of 
God  to  bear  on  his  conscience,  and  then  when  he  fully  feels  his 
wickedness  teach  him  to  lift  up  his  heart  in  prayer  to  God.  There 
is  generally  in  the  inquirer  either  the  spirit  of  the  Pharisee  or 
the  spirit  of  the  Publican.  God  be  thanked  for  the  spirit  of  the 
Publican.  Don't  give  comfort  to  the  Pharisee,  or  to  the  uncon- 
victed. Show  them  plainly  their  wickedness.  But  when  they  are 
convicted  and  feel  that  nothing  ever  can  wash  away  their  sins, 
turn  to  the  ist  chapter  of  Isaiah  and  show  them  the  i8th  verse : 
*  Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord  ;  though 
your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow ;  though 
they  be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool.'  What  more 
comfort  could  be  asked  than  this  ?  Scarlet  and  crimson  are  two 
fast  colors,  yet  the  Lord  can  make  them  white." 

The  inevitable  question,  asked  and  answered  so  often.  What  is 
the  secret  of  the  power  of  these  men  ?  recurs  to  each  new  com- 
munity where  their  influence  is  directly  exerted.  The  frequent 
motive  behind  the  inquiry  is  personal  desire  to  enjoy  and  employ 
this  secret  in  the  service  of  Jesus.  This  becomes  every  honest 
worker,  and  justifies  the  attempt  to  unveil  the  hiding  of  their  in- 
fluence, for  the  information  and  inspiration  of  those  who  would 
fill  the  earth  with  redeemed  souls.  And,  again,  in  the  midst  of 
our  gathered  threads,  we  insert  the  answers  to  this  problem,  that 
ihey  may  be  woven  into  the  beautiful  robe  of  their  wonderful 
career. 

There  are  two  points  here  to  be  considered  :  i.  The  occasion 
met  these  men,  and,  2.  They  proved  equal  to  it.  If  the  capabil- 
ity had  not  been  in  them,  they  would  have  dropped  into  obscurity 
like  hosts  of  others.  But  it  is  no  less  true  that  for  lack  of  occa- 
sion great  powers  often  lie  concealed,  not  only  from  the  world, 
but  even  from  him  whose  they  are.  In  Chicago,  hundreds,  even 
thousands,  gladly  heard  Mr.  Moody,  and  he  there  proved  his 
efficiency  in  every  department  of  the  work  he  undertook.  Had 
he  not,  it  is  by  no  means  probable  that  a  larger  opportunity 
would  have  opened  to  him.     When  the  enlarged  opportunity  was 


302  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

given,  he  showed  a  breadth  of  comprehension,  a  depth  of  insight, 
a  control  over  large  masses,  and  a  mastery  of  the  myriad  details 
of  a  great  undertaking,  such  as  his  work  in  Chicago  never  would 
have  called  for.  There  is  another  consideration.  Mr.  Moodv's 
powers  have  had  development;  his  capabihties  have  not  only 
been  educed,  but  they  have  been  improved  by  exercise. 

Mr.  Moody  talks  as  if  he  knew  just  what  he  wanted  to  say,  and 
was  determined  to  say  it.  In  this  he  is  an  example  to  Sunday- 
school  teachers. 

Mr.  Moody's  Christian  experience  was  of  a  most  positive 
kind  ;  and  a  vivid  realization  of  the  appalling  fact  that  on  ever^' 
hand  men  were  perishing  eternally  moved  him  to  the  work  whicL 
has  now  grown  to  such  great  proportions.  In  awakening  the 
consciences  of  the  unconverted  and  stimulating  the  activities  of 
Christians,  he  possesses  a  rare  power  that  none  can  fail  to  recog- 
nize. Herein  lies  his  greatness.  No  one  will  claim  for  Mr. 
Moody  the  richness  of  language,  the  resistless  pathos  and  humor, 
the  wonderful  mimicry  and  dramatic  power  that  characterize  the 
great  temperance  orator.  But  Mr.  Cough  does  not  more  thor- 
oughly hold  an  audience  than  Mr.  Moody.  We  have  heard  the 
latter  when  every  eye  and  every  ear  in  his  vast  audience  were 
riveted  upon  him — the  place,  the  man,  all  else  in  the  universe 
forgotten,  while  his  homely  sentences  and  pointed  illustrations 
issued  forth  hot  and  glowing,  radiant  with  quaint  touches  of  im- 
agination, and  varied  by  occasional  sallies  of  quiet  humor,  the 
whole  saturated  with  sincerity  and  marked  by  the  simplicity  of  a 
child-like  faith.  This  was  oratory  of  the  truest  sort.  There  are 
many  men  who  talk  as  effectively  as  Mr.  Moody /^r  a  little  while^ 
or  occasionally.  They  can  get  the  sympathy  of  an  audience 
when  they  chance  to  be  in  the  vein  ;  but  it  is  a  very  different 
thing  to  be  master  of  an  audience.  Mr.  Moody  is  always  that ; 
at  his  best  superlatively  so. 

A  minister  who  went  to  hear  Mr.  Moody  preach  was  surprised 
that  there  was  so  little  of  plan  or  of  argument  in  his  discourse, 
that  it  was  mnde  up  so  largely  of  declaration  and  appeal,  and  he 
wondered  ho\i  such  preaching  could  prove  so   impressive.     In- 


MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  303 

dacd,  he  was  sure  that  a  sermon  of  that  kind  was  not  likely  to 
convince  an  unbeliever ;  it  seerned,  in  fact,  only  addressed  to 
those  who  admiUed  the  truth  of  the  great  facts  which  the  preacher 
emphasized.  The  minister  was  pleased  with  Mr.  Moody  as  a 
man.  He  admired  his  earnestness  and  his  desire  to  win  souls  to 
the  Saviour ;  but  he  could  not  think  his  sermon  as  a  sermon 
amounted  to  much.  Something  else  than  such  preaching,  he  was 
confident,  gave  Mr.  Moody  the  ears  of  the  multitude. 

Yet,  just  here,  that  minister  made  a  great  mistake.  It  would 
have  been  a  blessed  thing  for  him  and  for  sinners  about  him  if  he 
had  recognized,  in  what  he  counted  the  lack  of  Mr.  Moody,  one 
of  the  sources  of  Mr.  Moody's  special  power  as  a  preacher. 
That  minister  thinks  it  always  his  duty  to  argue  with  unbelievers. 
He  is  a  little  in  doubt  himself  on  most  points,  and  he  sees  that 
others  are.  He  opens  discussion  with  them  in  every  sermon, 
and  at  the  sermon's  close  neither  he  nor  they  are  quite  convinced. 
He  does  not  rest  down  on  the  Word  of  God  with  such  positive- 
ness  that  he  has  no  thought  of  its  being  in  question.  Hence  he 
never  proclaims,  declares,  preaches  the  truth  in  confidence.  He 
is  called  a  good  sermonizer,  but  his  sermons  neither  convince 
unbelievers  nor  arouse  the  careless  to  seek  salvation  ;  nor  yet  do 
they  reassure  distrustful  "Christians.  If  he  would  but  believe  with 
Mr.  Moody's  confidence,  and  declare  the  gospel  with  Mr.  Moody's 
positiveness,  he  would  have  more  of  Mr.  Moody's  success  in 
bringing  his  hearers  to  a  sense  of  their  danger,  and  to  an  accept- 
ance of  the  full  salvation  to  which  he  points  them. 

Two  men  were  riding  in  a  street-car  together.  One  was  u 
skilled  infidel  and  controversialist.  The  other  was  a  simple- 
hearted  Christian  layman.  The  infidel  sought  to  provoke  an 
argument  as  to  the  Bible  and  its  truths.  The  believer's  response 
was.  "I  cannot  argue  the  case  with  you.  I  am  not  competent  to 
that.  But  this  I  do  know.  With  all  my  heart  I  trust  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  my  Saviour.  I  only  wish  you  had  the  joy  in  him 
which  I  have."  The  infidel's  unexpected  answer  came  promptly: 
"There  you  have  got  me.  I  can't  answer  that."  The  assurance 
which  enables  a  child  of  God  to  testify  far  Christ  and  his  salva- 


304  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

tion  is  more  effective  than  the  most  carefully  constructed  argu- 
ments for  the  reasonableness  of -God's  plan  of  redemption. 

The  one  unmistakable  cause  of  the  great  interest  attending 
these  t\vo  brethren  is  the  conviction  that  God  is  with  them. 
Among  the  natural  agencies  which  he  is  using  through  them  are : 

(i)  An  irrepressible  ardor  of  personal  conviction  ; 

(2)  The  simplicity,  quickness,  and  brightness  of  the  speak- 
ing; 

(3)  The  speaker's  utter  forgetfulness  of  himself;  no  parading 
of  his  own  sanctity,  or  humility ;  of  his  own  goodness  or  bad- 
ness, or  of  himself  in  any  way. 

(4)  An  unaffected,  loving  regard  for  his  fellow-men ;  a  real 
and  affectionate  interest  in  them ;  and  a  hearty,  genial  way  of 
showing  it. 

(5)  The  entire  naturalness  of  manner  wins  and  holds  attention. 
There  is  none  of  that  straining  after  effect  which  is  so  apparent 
and  so  odious  in  some  professional  "  revivalists ; "  no  solemn 
farce,  no  cant,  no  sentimentalism.  He  appears  to  be  among 
evangelists  what  Walter  Scott  was  among  writers — a  sturdy, 
wholesome,  ?nanly  man. 

Mr.  Moody  owes  none  of  his  success  to  fiery  enthusiasm,  sensa- 
tional exhortings,  or  clever  advertising,  as  many  devotees,  not  to 
religion  but  to  special  church  organizations,  so  confidently  as- 
serted. He  owes  it  all  to  simple  earnestness,  unerring  judg- 
ment, and  that  never-failing  conservator  of  human  effort — method. 
Most  of  his  brothers  of  the  cloth,  knowing  that  their  con- 
gregations are  composed  of  representatives  of  many  classes  and 
conditions  of  life,  and  honestly  desiring  to  preach  and  pray  as 
much  for  one  as  another,  forget  that  homoeopathic  principles  can- 
not be  extended  to  include  the  soul  diseases  which  the  Great 
Physician  came  to  cure,  and  thus  continue  to  dilute  the  current 
of  their  endeavor  by  attempting  to  preach  on  all  sins  and  to  all 
sinners  at  the  same  time,  until  such  infinitesimal  portions  arc  dis- 
pensed to  those  who  need  special  aid  that  their  work  is,  after  all, 
but  love's  labor  lost.  Mr.  Moody,  from  the  very  start,  has  been 
as  systematic  in  his  work  as  an  astronomer  laboring  to  master 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA.  305 

the  secrets  of  some  newly-discovered  planet.  He  is  not  content 
with  simply  giving  his  life  to  the  cause  of  religion,  trusting  to 
some  higher  power  to  carry  home  the  arrows  shot  at  random,  but 
so  husbands  his  strength,  so  concentrates  his  energies,  and  so 
persistently  directs  his  efforts  to  the  special  work  of  the  moment, 
that  every  word  is  made  to  tell,  and  each  succeeding  sentence 
carries  more  and  more  conviction  to  the  hearts  which  it  is  in- 
tended to  influence.  It  will  be  remembered  that,  contrary  to 
all  precedent,  the  evangelist  commenced  his  work  of  regenera- 
tion, not  with  the  unconverted,  but  with  professed  Christians. 
Ignoring  the  sins  of  sinners,  he  preached  only  of  the  sins  of  saints. 

For  one  whole  week  this  unexpected  but  perhaps  not  unneces- 
sary prelude  to  the  regular  programme  was  continued,  and  dur- 
ing that  time  it  is  possible  that  not  a  few  really  earnest  and  de- 
voted lovers  of  their  Master  discovered  that  in  the  crowning 
grace  of  charity  they  were  sadly  lacking,  for  Christian  bounty 
should  be  as  boundless  as  the  sea  and  Christian  love  as  deep. 
During  the  past  week  Mr.  Moody  has  worked  exclusively  for 
those  who,  while  not  doubting  the  truth  of  Revelation,  have  failed 
to  follow  its  teachings  or  come  into  full  sympathy  with  its  consol- 
ing spirit.  These  divided  from  the  Christian  workers,  the  pro- 
fessed infidels  and  unbelievers  in  the  plan  of  the  Atonement, 
were  again  subdivided  by  Mr.  Moody's  system  of  teaching  into 
as  many  different  classes  as  their  varied  needs  seemed  to  require. 
For  each  special  services  were  held,  at  which  special  arguments 
and  appeals  were  employed  to  reach  their  particular  cases. 
There  were  meetings  for  men,  meetings  for  women,  meetings  for 
mothers,  for  fathers,  for  young  men,  for  parents,  and  last,  but 
not  least  in  importance,  for  drunkards.  At  each  one  of  these 
assemblages  the  services,  from  the  opening  prayer  to  the  bene- 
diction, were  conducted  exclusively  and  most  heartily  for  the 
spiritual  benefit  of  the  class  which  had  responded  to  the  call. 

Curious  as  it  may  appear,  the  great  evangelist  seems  instinct- 
ively to  have  adopted  in  his  spiritual  warfare  with  Satan  precisely 
the  same  tactics  which,  originated  by  the  first  Napoleon,  was  the 
secret   of  his  numberless   and  marvellous  victories.     Napoleon 


306  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

never  made  a  direct  movement  until  he  had  so  divided  the  bat- 
talions of  the  enemy  that  by  a  coup  d'etat  he  could  concentrate 
his  whole  force  on  one  subdivision,  thereby  gaining  a  certain  vic- 
tory without  material  loss,  and  thus  continuing  until  the  enemy 
was  reduced  to  fragments  and  routed.  The  evangelist,  in  his 
crusade  against  evil,  follows  exactly  the  same  plan.  Instead  of 
imitating  the  Church  and  firing  indiscriminate  and  ineffective 
rounds  into  the  well-trained  ranks  of  the  enemy,  he  persuades 
the  sinners  to  divide  themselves  into  clearly-defined  classes,  and 
then  concentrates  his  whole  force  on  the  separated  fragments, 
with,  as  a  result,  an  amazing  number  of  unconditional  surrenders. 
But,  besides  Mr.  Moody's  earnestness  and  attention  to  system, 
there  is  back  of  all  an  overpowering  strength  of  will,  made  pecu- 
liarly effective  by  a  large  amount  of  animal  magnetism.  These 
qualities  combined  would  raise  any  man  of  ordinary  intelligence 
above  his  fellows ;  but  when  this  power  is  controlled  by  intense 
religious  feeling,  it  not  only  raises  the  leader  above  his  fellows, 
but  his  fellows  above  themselves.  Who  shall  describe  the  evan- 
gelist's preaching?  He  is  not  oratorical  or  rhetorical  or  even 
logical.  His  brightest  ideas  are  not  aesthetic,  and  his  mosi 
effective  appeals  are  not  pathetic.  Still,  he  has  the  faculty  o\ 
selecting  out  the  very  arguments  or  illustrations  which  will  most 
affect  the  particular  heart  he  desires  to  touch,  and  of  presenting 
those  arguments  or  illustrations  in  such  a  gleaming  light  of  plau- 
sibility as  to  throw  into  a  shadow  every  opposite  thought  which 
chance  may  evolve.  When  speaking  to  parents,  he  invariably 
tells  of  the  beautiful  children  who  stand  beckoning  to  their  loved 
papa  and  mamma  from  the  summerland ;  when  talking  to  sons 
and  daughters,  he  adjures  them  by  their  white-haired  father  or 
sainted  mother  to  hasten  onward  to  the  place  of  pure  delight 
where  all  who  love  may  be  again  united.  He  appeals  to  hus- 
bands to  reform  for  the  sake  of  their  loving  wives  and  innocent 
children,  and  to  wives  to  come  to  the  Father  for  the  sake  of  their 
wayward  husbands  and  helpless  babes.  There  may  be  art  in 
Bucli  methods  of  making  truth  patent,  but  with  Mr.  Moody  it 
has  the  effect  of  the  perfection  of  art — artlessncss. 


THE   WORK   IN   PHILADELPHIA.  307 


The  Harvest  Gathered. 


The  third  week  of  the  evangelists'  labors  among  the  uncon- 
-•erted  in  Philadelphia,  drew  to  a  close  on  Saturday,  Dec.  nth. 

At  the  end  of  a  fortnight  their  special  work,  that  of  arousing 
xnenibers  of  churches  to  activity  and  individual  effort,  was  prob- 
ably as  far  advanced  as  in  Brooklyn  when  the  evangelists  had 
ended  their  month's  labors ;  but,  then,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love  had  caught  inspiration  from  the 
glorious  and  successful  meetings  in  Brooklyn,  which  will  always 
be  remembered  as  initiatory  of  a  revival  that  promises  to  be 
widespread,  if  not  national,  in  its  influence  and  extent.  There 
were  some  difficulties  to  be  overcome  when  the  work  was  begun 
in  Brooklyn,  which  did  not  present  themselves  in  Philadelphia. 
When  the  evangelists  came  here  on  the  21st  of  November,  it  was 
no  longer  a  matter  of  doubt  that  in  their  own  land,  aswell  as  in 
the  British  Isles,  great  crowds  would  be  attracted  to  listen  to  Mr. 
Moody's  earnest  talks  and  Mr.  Sankey's  sweet  gospel  sermons  in 
song.  Something  of  the  methods  by  which  the  multitudes  were 
to  be  reached  and  brought  under  religious  influences  had  begun 
to  be  appreciated  ;  the  efficiency  and  important  mission  of  the 
inquiry-meeting  were  recognized,  if  not  generally,  at  least  in 
part ;  and  so  the  special  work  in  the  City  of  Churches,  while  it 
has  brought  forth  lasting  fruit  in  the  conversion  of  many  souls, 
and  might  have  been  still  more  effective  had  it  been  of  longer 
duration,  was  also  influential  here  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  many 
cities  and  towns,  through  the  medium  of  the  press,  as  sounding 
the  preliminary  bugle-notes  which  called  the  Lord's  hosts  to 
battle. 

There  have  been  held  during  the  last  three  weeks  thirty-eight 
meetings  addressed  by  Mr.  Moody,  nine  of  them  being  specially 
for  Christian  workers,  fourteen  for  the  general  public  (these  had 
an  average  attendance  of  eight  thousand),  and  fifteen  daily 
prayer-meetings,    at   which   the  gatherings   have    been   on   the 


308  MOODY    AND    SAXKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

average  about  three  thousand.  If  the  congregation  had  been 
composed  of  new  faces  at  every  service,  more  than  two  hundred 
thousand  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  would  have  been  reached, 
but  most  probably  half  of  each  audience  has  been  made  up  of 
substantially  the  same  people.  Of  the  remaining  one  hundred 
thousand,  however,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  a  large 
proportion  were  of  just  the  class  sought  to  be  reached  in  these 
special  services — namely,  those  who  are  strangers  to  religion. 
Many  who  have  not  been  attending  any  place  of  worship  for  a 
length  of  time,  have  come  into  the  depot  church  and  heard 
the  Gospel  faithfully  preached.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  a  widespread 
influence  is  being  exerted  throughout  the  families  of  this  great 
city  by  these  special  meetings  beyond  that  which  could  have 
been  brought  about  through  the  regular  services  at  the  various 
churches. 

A  great  work  has  been  done  amongst  the  young  men.  Meet- 
ings are  conducted  each  evening  by  Mr.  John  Wannamaker  in 
the  Broad  and  Arch  M.  E.  Church,  at  which  the  average  attend- 
ance has  been  little  short  of  five  hundred.  Here  many  conver- 
sions have  taken  place  ;  young  men  have  learned  to  talk  to  young 
men,  and  with  loving  entreaty  and  kind  sympathy  lead  them  to 
Christ  Mr.  Moody  spoke  to  those  who  gathered  at  this  meeting, 
and  incited  them  to  band  themselves  together  for  a  canvass  of 
the  city,  that  they  might  bring  many  strangers  to  the  meetings 
and  make  their  influence  felt  in  all  parts  of  Philadelphia.  Not 
only  was  this  work  recommended,  but  hints  were  thrown  out  that 
a  still  more  important  mission  might  be  given  to  the  young  men 
of  this  city.  Philadelphia,  he  said,  was  a  great  centre,  and  there 
are  hundreds  of  towns  and  villages  in  all  the  surrounding  country 
where  special  meetings  might  be  held  and  become  productive  of 
most  wonderful  results.  "  A  thousand  young  men  are  wanted," 
he  said,  "to  devote  themselves  to  Christ's  service." 

Excursion  trains  are  running  almost  every  night,  bringing  in 
hundreds  to  the  meetings.  Thus  the  village  churches  and  coun- 
try ministers  will  be  aroused,  quickened,  and  encouraged,  and  a 
spirit  of  energy  and  Cliristian  zeal  very  widely  infused. 


TliE    WORK.    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  309 

Women's  meetings  are  being  held  every  afternoon  in  Dr. 
McCook's  church ;  but  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  these  gather- 
ings, although  attended  by  four  or  five  hundred  persons,  have 
not  been  as  profitable  or  enlivening  as  they  might  be  made.  One 
defect  has  been  that  the  singing  is  not  sufficiently  hearty  or  con- 
gregational— not  more  than  one  out  of  twenty  of  the  sisters  seem 
to  take  any  part  in  the  service  of  song.  There  is  also  a  tendency 
to  long  speeches ;  and  altogether  greater  heartiness  needs  to  be 
infused  into  the  meetings  in  order  to  make  them  as  useful  as  such 
services  are  designed  to  be. 

Judging  from  Mr.  Moody's  own  words,  the  results  have  been 
more  than  satisfactory — they  have  been  surprising.  More  con- 
verts are  believed  by  the  evangelists  to  have  been  made  during 
the  past  week  than  in  any  other  week  ever  spent  in  America. 
The  inquiry-rooms,  so  often  explained  and  so  ably  defended  by 
Mr.  Moody,  have  been  full  almost  every  evening,  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  those  converted  have  at  once  become  workers  for  the 
salvation  of  others.  There  were  on  Sunday  three  regular  ser- 
vices ;  the  first  in  the  morning  for  Christians,  the  second  at  four 
o'clock  for  women,  and  the  third  in  the  evening  for  men.  At  the 
early  morning  service  the  evangelists  were  greeted  with  a  congre- 
gation of  over  6,000  Christian  workers,  supported  by  an  excellent 
voiced  and  well-drilled  volunteer  choir  of  500  members.  This 
choir  has  been  so  perfectly  trained,  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Fischer,  that  it  has  become  one  of  the  best  organizations  of  its 
kind  ever  drawn  together  in  the  city.  The  services  opened  with 
the  nth  hymn, 

I  have  a  Saviour,  He's  pleading  in  glory, 
A  dear,  loving  Saviour,  though  earth  friends  be  few; 

And  now  He's  watching  in  tenderness  o'er  me, 
And  oh  !  that  my  Saviour  were  your  Saviour  too, 


which  was  sung  by  the  whole  congregation  with  much  spirit  and 
rare  grace  of  expression  for  a  body  of  6,000  or  7,000  singers, 
most  of  whom  were  strangers  to  each  other.     The  words,  "  For 


3IO  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

you  I  am  praying,"  were  repeated  in  the  softest  of  echoes.     The 

87th  hymn, 

Lord,  I  hear  of  showers  of  blessing 

Thou  art  scattering  lull  and  free — 
Showers  the  thirsty  land  refreshing; 

Let  some  droppings  fall  on  me. 

Chorus — Even  me,  even  me. 

Let  Thy  blessing  fall  on  me, 

was  next  sung  by  the  choir,  led  by  Mr.  Sankey,  whose  sweet 
voice  rano-  out  pure  and  clear  above  the  multitudinous  harmonies, 
.ike  the  notes  of  a  silver  flute  amid  the  fortissimo  tones  of  a  pow- 
erful orchestra.  Wm.  B.  Dodge,  of  New  York,  then  made  a 
prayer,  asking  that  in  the  spirit  of  the  hymn  just  sung  all  might 
move  forward  through  the  day,  and  that  the  Lord  might  grant  to 
each  and  all  a  Sabbath  day's  blessing.  He  prayed  that  all  might 
be  quickened  in  their  efforts  for  the  advancement  of  His  glory, 
and  that  clearer  views  of  the  beauty  of  salvation,  as  well  as  of 
the  pains  of  eternal  death,  might  be  given.  He  prayed  that  His 
servant,  Mr.  Moody,  should  be  strengthened  and  be  able  to  speak 
like  a  dying  man  to  dying  men.     The  79th  hymn, 

Sowing  the  seed  by  the  daylight  fair, 
Sowing  the  seed  by  the  noonday  glare, 
Sowing  the  seed  by  the  fading  light, 
Sowing  the  seed  in  the  solemn  night, 
Oh  !  what  shall  the  harvest  be  ? 

was  next  announced.  This,  whether  rcc^arded  from  a  Scriptural, 
poetical,  or  musical  standpoint,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  hymns 
in  the  collection;  and  it  has  bccojiie  such  a  favorite  that  nearly 
all  singers  have  learned  it,  and  now  as  the  familiar  notes  of  the 
chorus  are  touched  by  Mr.  Sankey,  the  sweet  melody,  rich  har- 
mony, and  rather  intricate  movement  are  perfectly  followed  by 
thousands  of  voices.  The  last  verse,  "  Sowing  the  seed  with  an 
aching  heart,  '  was  sung  with  affecting  expression  by  Mr.  San- 
key, and  as  the  echoes  of  the  solo  died  away  tlic  choir  could  bo 


THE   WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  3 II 

heard  repeating  the  chorus  in  whispers  of  melody.  Mr.  Moody 
then  arose  and  read  a  part  of  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Romans. 
After  which  the  170th  hymn, 

Hark  !  the  voice  of  Jesus  crying, 
"  Who  will  go  and  work  to-day  ?  " 

was  sung  by  Mr.  Sankey  to  the  beautiful  tune  of  "Your  Mission," 
which  became  such  a  favorite  with  the  martyred  President  Lin- 
coln. 

The  theme  and  spirit  of  the  two  compositions  are  very  similar, 
the  latter  being  religious,  while  the  original,  though  far  from 
irreligious,  was  still  better  adapted  to  secular  than  purely  devo- 
tional occasions.  Mr.  Moody  made  a  fervent  prayer,  thanking 
the  Father  for  the  success  of  the  past  three  weeks,  and  asking 
for  blessings  on  the  week  to  come.  He  prayed  that  all  the 
workers  in  the  harvest-field  might  be  strengthened  and  filled 
with  zeal  for  the  work.  The  congregation,  with  Mr.  Sankey, 
sang  with  inspiring  earnestness  the  iioth  hymn  to  the  familiar 
tune  of  Antioch.  As  the  stanzas  were  concluded,  Mr.  Moody 
arose  and  preached  an  eloquent  sermon  from  the  text,  "  Occupy 
till  I  come."  Luke  xix.  13.  He  said  the  Church  had  been 
divided  by  some  one  into  four  very  familiar  classes.  First,  there 
were  the  destroyers,  who  found  their  way  into  almost  every  con- 
gregation and  proved  destructive  to  prosperity,  as  well  as  peace 
and  harmony.  Then  there  were  the  obstructors,  who  continually 
opposed  every  movement,  whether  for  good  or  ill.  Next  came 
the  idlers,  and  finally  the  workers.  "  Now,  which  of  these  four 
classes  do  you  belong  to?"  continued  Mr.  Moody.  "I  shall 
judge  no  man ;  take  your  places  as  you  please;  but  if  you  have 
faith  in  Christ  you  must  desire  and  occupy  till  he  comes.  The 
Church  seems  to  have  gone  into  camp  and  become  demoralized. 
Some  of  its  members  have  gone  in  simply  to  sleep  and  rest.  I 
heard  of  one  man  who  left  one  church  where  he  had  been  a  hard 
worker  and  wanted  to  enter  another,  but  said  he  did  not  want  to 
do  any  work.  'Oh!'  said  the  minister,  'you  have  made  amis- 
take;   you  should  apply  to  my  neighbor,  who  is  pnstor  of  the 


312  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Church  of  the  Heavenly  Rest'  I  think  very  many  more  churches 
could  appropriately  be  named  the  Heavenly  Rest.  Some  people 
think  because  they  can  do  but  little  their  efforts  are  of  no  use. 
When  Moses  told  Pharaoh  that  his  God  could  remove  the  plague 
of  the  frogs,  Pharaoh  said,  '  Oh  !  I  don't  think  much  of  your 
God  if  he  is  the  God  of  such  an  insignificant  little  thing  as  a 
frog.'  *  Yes,'  replied  Moses,  '  but  there  are  a  great  many  of 
them.'  Let  us  remember  that  we  may  be  little,  but  if  there  are 
only  a  great  many  of  us  we  can  do  a  great  work.  We  must 
remember  that  each  one  of  us  has  talent  peculiar  to  himself.  I 
can't  sing  like  Mr.  Sankey,  or  carry  on  business  like  Mr.  Stuart ; 
I  am  not  an  organizer  like  Mr.  Wannamaker,  yet  if  I  use  my  half 
a  talent  as  such  a  man  as  Rev.  Dr.  Dodge  uses  his  ten,  I  will 
receive  the  same  reward."  Mr.  Moody  here  spoke  of  a  number 
of  interesting  instances  of  men  using  for  the  Lord  such  talents 
as  he  had  given  them,  referring  particularly  to  a  Quaker  in 
London,  who,  being  unable  to  talk,  sing,  or  otherwise  labor,  had 
expended  his  fortune  in  printing  and  circulating  tracts.  "  This 
man,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "  has  already  sent  out  more  tracts  than 
all  the  American  and  the  London  publication  societies  combined, 
and  he  is  now  in  daily  receipt  of  piles  of  letters  from  people  who 
have  been  converted  all  over  the  world." 

The  speaker  also  told  of  a  gentleman  of  fortune  in  England 
who  had  spent  the  past  nine  years  in  searching  through  the  slums 
of  London  and  educating  the  gamins  whom  he  rescued.  Referring 
to  the  responsibility  which  all  Sunday-school  teachers  assumed, 
he  told  of  a  little  girl  who  was  converted  by  her  teacher  (who 
probably  afterwards  forgot  all  about  the  child)  ;  that  child  grew 
up,  became  the  mother  of  ten  sons,  all  of  whom  were  led  into 
"  paths  ot  p(:nce,"  and  six  of  whom  became  ministers  of  the 
Gospel.  Mr.  Moody  continued  at  some  length  exhorting  those 
who  had  already  received  the  Saviour  to  do  all  in  their  power 
to  save  others.  At  the  conclusion  of  this  sermon,  those  who 
were  willing  to  try  to  save  even  one  soul  during  the  week  were 
called  upon  to  stand  up,  and  fully  two-thirds  of  those  present 
rose  to  their  feet.    The  persons  who  desired  to  become  Christians 


THE   WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  313 

were  next  requested  to  rise  and  one-half  of  the  remainder  stood 
up. 

The  women's  meeting  in  the  afternoon  was  thronged  with  wor- 
shippers, every  available  space  being  occupied  and  thousands 
being  compelled  to  turn  sadly  away  from  closed  doors.  Mr. 
Moody  opened  the  meeting  by  announcing  the  37th  hymn — 

Tell  me  the  old,  old  story. 

This  was  sung  by  the  ten  thousand  voices  with  an  effect  hardly 
to  be  described.  Wave  upon  wave  of  the  richest  harmony  swept 
in  great  billows  of  musical  sound  from  one  end  of  the  mighty 
structure  to  the  other  and  finally  seemed  to  die  away  among  the 
sunbeams  which  rested  gently  upon  the  windowed  roof.  The 
last  verse  was  so  inspiringly  rendered  that  at  Mr.  Moody's  request 
the  lines  were  repeated.  After  a  few  moments  spent  in  silent 
prayer  Bishop  Simpson  offered  up  a  supplication  imploring  the 
Father  to  send  on  every  one  of  the  vast  assembly  the  blessings 
of  His  grace,  that  all  might  feel  that  Christ  had  made  them 
whole.  He  thanked  the  Lord  for  the  wonderful  effusion  of  His 
Spirit  which  had  accompanied  the  labors  of  His  servants,  and 
prayed  that  they  might  see  the  multitude  turning  from  worldly 
ways  to  paths  of  holiness  and  peace.     A  new  hymn, 

Let  us  gather  up  the  sunbeams 
Lying  all  around  our  path, 

was  next  sung  as  a  solo  by  Mr.  Sankey,  the  choir  joining  in  the 
chorus : 

Then  scatter  seeds  of  kindness, 

Then  scatter  seeds  of  kindness, 

Then  scatter  seeds  of  kindness. 

For  our  reaping  by  and  by. 

Mr.  Moody  then  read  from  the  12th  chapter  of  St.  Matthew 

the  parable  of  the  ten  virgins,  and  as  he  concluded  Mr.  Sankey 

exquisitely  sang  the  new  hymn,  "The  wise  and  foolish  virgins." 

The  latter  part  of  this  hymn  is  an  adaptation  of  Balfe's  "Too 

14 


314  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Late,"   and  was  rendered  by  Mr.  Sankey  with   rare  beaut}'  of 
expression. 

Mr.  Moody  next  read  a  few  verses  in  the  14th  chapter  of  the 
Gospel  according  to  St.  Luke,  in  which  the  parable  of  the  mar- 
riage supper  is  written.  "I  wish,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "to  call 
your  attention  to  the  words,  '  I  pray  thee,  have  me  excused.' 
Though  1,800  years  have  rolled  away,  we  find  people  still  with 
one  consent  praying  to  be  excused.  It  was  not  a  pestilential 
hospital  to  which  they  were  called,  but  to  the  marriage-supper. 
To-day  the  King  of  kings  sends  an  invitation  to  every  human 
being  to  be  at  the  marriage-supper,  and  yet  how  many  want  to 
be  excused.  Suppose  the  Lord  should  take  you  all  at  your  word 
and  then  lay  the  hand  of  death  upon  you?  What  a  wail  would 
go  up  from  this  city  of  Philadelphia !  Suppose  He  should  cease 
trying  to  compel  you  to  come  in,  and  just  quietly  shut  the  door 
upon  you,  have  you  ever  tried  to  think  of  the  anguish  which  such 
a  change  would  bring?  If  all  who  wanted  to  be  excused  should 
be  taken  away,  the  grass  would  soon  be  growing  in  the  streets  of 
Philadelphia.  There  would  be  a  good  many  shops  shut  up,  there 
would  be  no  saloon-keepers  left,  and  I  would  have  a  very  small 
audience  here  to-morrow  night.  Now,  look  at  the  excuses  which 
these  three  men  gave :  the  first  said  he  had  bought  some  land, 
and  must  needs  go  and  see  it.  Now,  when  men  buy  land  they  go 
and  see  it  before  buying  it,  and  even  then  would  not  start  off  at 
supper-time.  The  answer  bears  on  its  face  the  fact  that  it  was  a 
downright  lie.  The  excuse  was  manufactured.  The  second  man 
had  a  more  absurd  (excuse  than  the  first.  He  said,  *  I  have  bought 
a  yoke  of  oxen  and  must  needs  go  and  prove  them.'  That  excuse 
was  manufactured  also.  Men  don't  buy  oxen  and  then  prove 
them ;  ihcy  prove  them  first  and  buy  them  afterwards.  More 
than  that,  the  morning  not  the  evening  is  the  time  to  prove  oxen. 
That  excuse  shows  in  itself  that  it's  a  lie.  Then  the  third  man 
could  not  come  to  the  supper  because  he  had  married  a  wife. 
Why,  if  he  had  a  wife,  this  fine  banquet  was  just  the  place  she 
would  most  like  to  attend.  That  excuse  also  was  manufactured. 
Just  notice  how  miserable  all  these  excuses  arc.     Now,  I  waot  to 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  315 

ask  this  Jiudience  just  one  question,  Have  you  got  a  better  one? 
Can  any  one  get  up  here  and  say,  '  Mr.  Moody,  I  have  a  good 
excuse'?  I  never  saw  any  one  in  my  life  who  had  a  better  ex- 
cuse, and  few  have  as  good  ones,  yet  even  these,  poor  as  they 
are,  are  manufactured.  Look  at  some  of  the  excuses  we  hear  in 
the  inquiry-rooms.  Some  say,  'Oh!  it's  so  hard  to  serve  the 
Master.*  This  is  a  mistake,  Christ  is  an  easy  Master.  '  The 
way  of  the  tra?isgressor  is  hard.^  I  stand  here  as  a  witness 
that  my  God  and  my  Saviour  is  not  a  hard  Master.  Another 
excuse  is  that  the  inquirer  don't  understand  the  Bible.  Now,  I 
don't  believe  that  excuse  will  stand  the  light  of  eternity.  I  never 
met  skeptical  people  that  have  read  the  Bible  from  back  to  back, 
and  I  know  there  is  no  book  more  misjudged.  People  will  sel- 
dom judge  of  a  new  book  until  they  have  read  it,  but  they  wil- 
lingly judge  God's  book  before  looking  into  it.  More  than  that, 
the  Bible  was  not  made  to  understand.  Don't  give  up  the  good 
old  Bible  until  you  can  get  a  better  book.  You  won't  want  to 
stand  up  before  God  and  say  :  '  Lord,  I  was  not  saved  because  I 
did  not  understand  the  Bible.'  Others  excuse  themselves  on  the 
plea  that  there  are  so  many  hypocrites  in  the  Church  and  they 
don't  like  such  company.  Now,  I  admit  that  there  have  always 
been  hypocrites  in  the  Church,  but  is  that  a  good  excuse  ?  If 
every  man  on  the  face  of  the  earth  is  a  black-hearted  hypocrite, 
is  that  any  reason  why  you  should  be.?  But  if  you  don't  like 
hypocrites  you  had  better  go  to  Christ,  for  not  one  of  them  shall 
sit  down  at  the  marriage-supper  of  the  Lamb.  Stay  away,  and 
you'll  go  with  the  hypocrites  through  eternity.  Again,  I  fancy 
that  there  is  one  in  the  audience  who  says,  '  I  am  so  vile  that 
Christ  won't  receive  me.'  I  know  there  is  not  one  of  you  who 
can  show  me  a  place  in  the  Bible  where  it  says  any  one  is  so 
wicked  that  forgiveness  is  impossible.  There  is  not  a  mother  in 
the  congregation  who  would  not  forgive  a  wayward  child,  and 
there  is  not  a  sinner  in  this  assembly  who  cannot  obtain  forgive- 
ness of  the  Heavenly  Father."  Mr.  Moody  concluded  with  a 
touching  incident  in  his  own  experience,  relating  in  aflecting 
tones  the  simple  story  oi  a  brotlier  lost  for  years  and  years,  but 


3X6  IkruODY    AND    SAN  KEY    IN   AMERICA. 

at  last  found  and  clasped  in  a  forgiving  mother's  arms.  All  who 
desired  to  be  prayed  for  were  then  requested  to  rise,  and  about 
3,000  stood  up,  and  afterwards,  while  the  congregation  united  in 
singing  the  91st  hymn,  "There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood," 
passed  into  the  inquiry-rooms.  These  rooms  soon  became  filled, 
and  the  overflow  were  provided  with  seats  in  the  large  hall  on 
the  northwest  corner  of  the  building,  where  Mr.  Moody  himself 
prayed  and  talked  with  those  who  had  been  affected  by  the  ser- 
vices. 

The  Depot-Tabernacle  was  crowded  to  repletion  at  the  services 
held  in  the  evening,  and  the  most  encouraging  part  of  it  was  that 
the  11,000  persons  assembled  were  all  men.  It  has  frequently 
been  asserted  that  while  Mr.  Moody's  touching  prayers  and 
simple  addresses,  combined  with  Mr.  Sankey's  singing,  might 
easily  attract  large  audiences  of  ladies,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
fill  the  structure  with  representatives  of  the  masculine  gender. 
It  has  been  proved  by  Mr.  Moody,  beyond  doubt,  that  the  con- 
sciences of  men  can  be  easily  reached  by  honest,  earnest  endeavor, 
and  manly  argument,  when  showy  but  soulless  phrases  would 
hardly  penetrate  beyond  the  ear. 

Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 

was  sung  by  the  united  tones  of  at  least  ten  thousand  male  voices, 
led  by  the  clear  sopranos  of  the  choir,  with  an  effect  as  grandly 
beautiful  as  surprising.  Rev.  Dr.  McCook  then  offered  up  an 
opening  prayer,  beseeching  the  Father  to  hear  the  supplications 
of  his  servants  as  they  asked  for  mercy  and  forgiveness.  He 
prayed  that  His  Holy  Spirit  might  descend  and  fill  the  great 
multitude  as  in  the  days  of  Pentecost,  so  that  all  could  be  won 
in  sweet  and  holy  subjection  to  Jesus  Christ.  He  asked  for  failh 
to  lay  the  petition  from  all  before  the  Lord  in  the  name  of  Jesus ; 
and  blessings  were  particularly  asked  for  those  who  were  seeking 
Jesus.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer  Mr.  Sankey  took  his  seat 
at  the  organ,  and  with  marvellous  power  of  expression,  sung  the 
6lh  hymn  : 


THE    WORK    IN   PHILADELPHIA.  31 7 

There  were  ninety  and  nine  that  safely  lay 
In  the  shelter  of  the  fold. 

Mr.  Moody  then  called  attention  to  the  14th  chapter  of  Luke, 
beginning  at  the  i6th  verse.  After  the  parable  of  the  marriage- 
supper  had  been  read  Mr.  Sankey  sang  the  8ist  hymn : 

The  Lamb's  bright  hall  of  song, 
With  its  fair  glory, 
Beckons  thee  on. 
Ref. — Room,  room,  still  room, 
Enter  now. 

Day  is  declining  and  the  sun  is  low. 
The  shadows  lengthen, 
Light  makes  haste  to  go. 

The  refrain  was  sung  by  the  choir  in  the  softest  of  musical 
whispers,  having  the  effect  of  the  distant  melody  of  heavenly 
choristers.  Mr.  Moody  then  arose  and  repeated  the  sermon  of 
the  afternoon,  on  the  subject  of  the  "  Supper  of  the  Lamb." 
While  the  leader  spoke  of  the  three  excuses,  and  showed  how 
absurd  they  all  were,  the  attention  of  the  vast  audience  became 
more  and  more  intense,  until,  as  he  began  to  exhort  his  hearers  to 
come  to  Christ,  to  forget  self  and  seek  the  forgiveness  of  a  loving 
Master,  the  vast  sea  of  faces,  as  if  by  some  irresistible  fascination, 
turned  fixedly  towards  the  speaker,  and  every  glance  became 
fastened  on  the  lips  from  which  Christ  crucified  was  preached. 
Then,  as  he  concluded  and  called  upon  those  who  desired  prayers 
to  stand  up,  several  hundred  strong  men  arose,  and  trembling 
with  emotion,  waited  with  bowed  heads  while  Mr.  Sankey  exqui- 
sitely sang  the  38th  hymn  : 

Come  home,  come  home, 

You  are  weary  at  heart ; 

For  the  way  has  been  dark, 

And  so  lonely  and  wild, 

O  prodigal  child  ! 
Come  home,  oh  !  come  home  1 


3l8  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

As  the  echoes  of  the  song  of  invitation  died  away  Mr.  Moody 
lifted  up  his  hands  in  prayer,  saying:  "Our  Heavenly  Father,  we 
thank  Thee  for  this  invitation  to  be  at  the  marriage-supper,  and 
we  pray  that  we  all  may  accept  it.  As  these  who  stand  up  pray 
to  God, '  Be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner,'  may  Thy  Holy  Spirit  search 
them  out.  May  these  young  men  have  courage  given  them,  and 
let  them  not  be  ashamed  of  the  Word  of  God.  If  there  is  a 
prodigal  child  here,  oh  !  help  the  wanderer  in  his  efforts  to  return." 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer  over  i,ooo  men  accepted  the 
invitation  to  go  into  the  inquiry-rooms,  and  as  the  throng  were 
pressing  forward  the  vast  assemblage  sang  the  86th  hymn : 

Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  mo. 

This  hymn  was  repeated,  and  with  each  stanza  hundreds  more 
arose  and  joined  the  throngs  pouring  into  the  rooms  where  the 
Christian  workers  waited  to  receive  and  comfort  them. 

Never  was  the  Gospel  Truth  presented  to  erring  man  with 
greater  force,  and  at  no  time  since  the  inauguration  of  the  meet- 
ings have  such  great  results  been  seen.  Hundreds  flocked  to  the 
inquiry-rooms,  all  anxious  to  know  more  of  the  love,  mercy,  and 
tenderness  of  the  Saviour,  and  very  many  more  left  for  their 
homes  for  the  first  time  giving  any  heed  to  the  warning  words  of 
Him  who  came  upon  earth  to  call  men  to  repentance,  and  who 
died  that  sinners  might  be  saved. 

At  the  Monday  morning  roll-call  Mr.  Moody  said  diat,  as 
usual  on  Monday,  the  early  meeting  would  be  devoted  to  reports 
of  progress  from  all  sources.  He  began  by  reading  an  affecting 
letter  from  a  convert,  who  was  spoken  to  only  a  week  before.  In 
the  note  the  writer  said  he  had  not  been  in  church  ten  times  in 
as  many  years.  But  when  he  listened  to  the  sermon  his  heart 
broke,  and  returning  home,  after  being  spoken  to  by  Mr.  Moody, 
he  wept  for  his  sins,  and,  finally,  surrendered  unconditionally  to 
Jesus.  A  man  in  the  audience  next  arose,  and  told  of  two 
brothers  who  started  out  one  Saturday  morning,  became  intoxi- 
cated, and  continued  in  that  state  until  Sunday  afternoon,  when 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  319 

their  mother  requested  prayers  for  her  wayward  boys.  Both 
afterwards  went  separately  and  accidentally  to  the  revival  meet- 
ings, and,  to  the  surprise  of  both,  they  met  each  other  in  the 
evening  converted  men.  Mr.  Cree  spoke  of  a  young  man  who^ 
after  many  struggles,  rose  for  prayers,  and  was  finally  converted. 
Rev.  Mr.  Culver  spoke  of  the  work  at  the  Grace  Mission,  where 
fifty  persons  went  into  the  inquiry-room,  and  thirty  declared  they 
had  found  peace.  Many  more  cases  had  been  noted  in  the  con- 
gregation. A  clergyman  in  the  press-box  said  that  at  a  previous 
service  he  spoke  to  a  man  who  happened  to  be  seated  at  his  side. 
The  man  acknowledged  that  he  had  come  to  scoff.  He  went  to 
the  inquiry-room  and  was  converted.  Mr.  Sankey  referred  to 
three  men  who  had  spent  the  whole  of  the  morning  meeting  scoff- 
ing at  the  services,  but  who,  upon  being  spoken  to  in  a  kindly 
manner,  were  easily  led  into  the  inquiry-room  and  soon  afterwards 
led  to  the  foot  of  the  Cross.  A  number  of  clergymen  gave  the 
most  encouraging  accounts  of  the  progress  and  effect  of  the 
revival  in  their  churches.  Several  young  converts  present  related 
their  experiences  in  their  journey  from  darkness  to  light. 

A  young  man  in  the  back  part  of  the  audience  arose,  and  in  a 
trembling  voice  thanked  the  congregation  for  prayers  and  work 
which  had  helped  to  bring  him,  broken-hearted  and  repentant, 
to  the  foot  of  the  Cross. 

Rev.  Dr.  Newton  next  called  attention  to  the  total  absorption 
of  the  woman,  in  the  chapter  just  read,  to  the  will  of  God.  She 
had  a  submission  and  a  sublimity  of  confidence  which  all  Chris- 
tians should  endeavor  to  emulate.  When  she  was  asked  if  all 
was  well,  she  answered,  though  she  knew  the  child  was  lying 
cold  and  lifeless  on  his  bed,  "  It  is  well."  "  Let  us,  too,  remem- 
ber," continued  the  speaker,  "  that  even  if  our  prayers  should 
not  be  answered,  even  if  our  dearest  joys  should  be  stricken 
fi-om  our  lives,  we  should  be  able  to  say  '  It  is  well.'  The  great 
principle  of  this  movement  should  be  entire  submission  to  God 
and  unfaltering  confidence  in  his  love." 

Mr.  Geo.  H.  Stuart  next  arose  and  related  an  affecting  inci- 
dent of  a  man  who  came  into  the  inquiry-room  on  the  previous 


320  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

night,  and  after  long  years  of  infidelity  at  last  was  able  to  return 
to  the  wife,  who  had  been  so  long  praying  for  him,  a  Christian 
man. 

Mr.  Sankey  also  spoke  of  two  cases  for  which  he  desired 
special  prayers  :  One  was  a  man  who  came  to  him  night  before 
last  and  said  he  was  one  of  eleven  children,  and  all  had  become 
Christians  but  himself.  He  said  he  had  once  come  to  the  meet- 
ing in  hopes  of  finding  Jesus,  but  could  not.  He  came  again  on 
Sunday,  "And  then,"  continued  the  man,  "when  I  heard  Mr. 
Moody  tell  of  that  little  child  beckoning  from  the  other  side  of 
the  dark  river  I  thought  my  heart  would  break,  for  I  had  lost  my 
only  child  only  three  weeks  before.  Oh  !  cannot  you  help  me  ?  " 
"I  prayed  with  him  there  on  the  street  where  we  met,"  added 
Mr.  Sankey, "  and  he  went  home  with  a  changed  heart."  Another 
case  mentioned  was  that  of  a  young  girl  who  was  converted  on 
the  previous  evening  and  afterwards  informed  Mr.  Sankey  that 
she  was  the  niece  of  an  eminent  clergyman  in  Belfast,  Ireland, 
with  whom  the  speaker  had  long  been  acquainted.  "  I  told  her 
to  write  to  him  at  once,"  said  the  speaker,  "  and  to  tell  the  uncle 
who  had  so  often  prayed  for  her  while  he  has  been  carrying  on 
the  good  work  that  his  loved  one  had  found  Jesus  clear  across 
the  sea." 

Love  to  Christ  will  enable  us  to  make  sacrifices  for  him  with- 
out feeling  it  to  be  a  hardship.  In  illustration  of  this,  Mr. 
Moody  related  a  touching  story  of  the  wife  of  an  Indian  mis- 
sionary giving  up  her  children  to  the  care  of  Christian  friends  in 
this  country  so  as  to  go  back  to  the  mission  field  where  her  own 
and  her  husband's  labors  had  been  before  greatly  blessed,  and 
saying,  just  before  she  parted  from  them,  "  I  want  to  say  good- 
bye without  a  tear,  for  I  would  not  like  my  children  to  think  that 
it  cost  me  tears  to  serve  Christ."  Then  besides  working  from 
love,  let  us  also  put  ourselves  in  sympathy  with  the  people  we 
want  to  influence  for  good.  A  man  who  had  just  come  out  of 
the  penitentiary  and  had  no  friends,  was  won  and  his  hard  heart 
broken  by  just  the  kiss  of  my  little  girl.  Let  us  put  ourselves  in 
the  place  of  those  who  arc  in  trouble  and  distress ;  get  in  sympathy 


THE   WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  32I 

with  them  ;  then  the  Lord  will  bless  our  efforts.  We  must  have  a 
heart  to  weep  with  those  who  weep.  I  heard  a  beautiful  story  told 
by  Mr.  Mingins,  in  New  York.  He  said  a  lady  came  into  the 
office  of  the  City  Zlission  and  wanted  a  few  tracts.  She  didn't 
feel  as  if  she  could  do  very  much  of  active  work  for  the  Lord, 
but  felt  like  f,iving  away  a  few  tracts.  One  day  she  saw  a  police- 
man taking  a  poor  drunken  woman  to  jail,  a  miserable  object, 
ragged,  dirty,  with  hair  disordered,  but  the  lady's  heart  went  out 
in  sympathy  toward  her.  She  found  the  woman  after  she  came 
out  of  jail,  and  just  went  and  folded  her  arms  around  her,  and 
kissed  her.  The  woman  exclaimed,  "  My  God,  what  did  you  do 
that  for.?"  and  she  replied,  "I  don't  know,  but  I  think  Jesus 
sent  me  to  do  it."  The  woman  said,  "Oh,  don't  kiss  me  any 
more,  you'll  break  my  heart.  Why,  nobody  hasn't  kissed  me 
since  my  mother  died."  But  that  kiss  brought  the  woman  to  the 
feet  of  the  Saviour,  and  for  the  last  three  years  she  has  been 
living  a  godly,  Christian  life,  won  to  God  by  a  kiss. 

There  were  those  who  were  affected  to  tears,  so  pathetic  and 
yet  so  strikingly  truthful  were  the  words  of  the  revivalist.  All 
who  heard  him  could  not  but  have  been  convinced  that  the 
speaker  was  in  earnest,  and  that  he  felt  that  the  obligation  that 
rested  upon  him  was  so  great  that  unless  he  presented  the  truth 
in  a  manner  not  to  be  mistaken  or  misunderstood  he  would  be 
coming  short  of  his  duty.  The  meeting  was  beyond  question  the 
most  effective  yet  held,  and  showed  the  great  power  possessed 
by  the  evangelist.  The  singing  of  Mr.  Sankey  was  in  keeping 
with  the  preaching  by  his  co-laborer,  and  very  many  were  visibly 
affected  by  it.  A  spirit  that  can  scarcely  be  understood  and  may 
be  ascribed  to  the  Most  High  seemed  to  pervade  the  place. 

At  a  meeting  presided  over  by  Mr.  Wannamaker,  he  said: 
''Tiicse  are  golden  days  for  Philadelphia.  But  a  little  while  and 
we  were  all  under  a  shadow.  The  traveller  who  has  been  to  Inter- 
lachen  will  remember  a  feeling  coming  over  him  asof  some  impend- 
ing shadow  of  gloom.  It  was  in  some  such  shadow  that  we  were 
until  now,  like  a  mantle  covering  us  come  these  days  of  bright 
ness.     To-night  let   this  vast  congregation  join   in  the  solemn 


322  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

prayer,  he  continued,  to  the  Lord  for  the  great  and  glorious  work  m 

that  is  now  progressing  amongst  us."     The  hymn, 

Rejoice  and  be  glad  !    The  Redeemer  has  come, 
Go  look  on  His  cross  and  His  tomb, 

was  sung  in  such  a  beautiful  and  touching  manner  that  an  old 
gentleman  sprang  up  at  its  conclusion  from  his  seat  in  the  plat- 
form and  exclaimed  :  "  I  have  frequently  heard  it  said  that  Jesus 
loved  a  musical  heart  more  than  a  musical  voice.  If  that  is  so  I 
can  tell  you  that  here  we  have  learnt  how  both  can  be  united  ? " 
The  old  gentleman's  remark  appeared  to  intensify  the  quiet  feel- 
ing felt  by  every  one  present  as  the  musical  sounds  in  waves  of 
melody  rolled  along  the  peaked  roof  of  the  immense  structure. 
Mr.  Wannamaker  at  this  moment  requested  the  choir  to  sing 

I  am  so  glad  that  our  Father  in  Heaven. 

"  I  want  to  utter  a  word  of  thanksgiving,"  said  Mr.  Sankey,  "  for 
having  been  permitted  to  witness  in  this  dear  land  this  glorious 
spectacle.  Often  in  the  British  islands  have  Mr.  Moody  and  I 
wondered,  and  hoped  and  prayed  that  we  might  be  able  to  spread 
the  old  story  amongst  you  all.  When  your  chairman  came  to  us 
in  England  and  told  us  that  a  wave  of  prayer  was  going  through 
this  city,  we  were  encouraged.  We  now  praise  the  Lord  in  our 
hearts  that  we  have  come,  and  that  our  efforts  have  been  benefi- 
cial in  their  results. 

A  gentleman  arose  and  said  that  although  he  had  attended 
every  communion  in  his  church  for  the  last  thirty-two  years,  he 
never  knew  what  it  was  to  carry  Christ  in  his  heart  until  two 
weeks  ago,  A  city  missionary,  who  has  been  holding  meetings 
along  the  wharves,  said  that  within  the  last  week  he  had  been 
more  than  ever  success;rul.  Degraded  men  and  women  liad 
fallen  on  their  faces  before  the  Throne  and  cried  for  mercy,  and 
every  day  the  good  fruits  of  the  present  revival  were  beconn'ng 
more  and  more  manifest,  even  among  the  outcasts  who  would 
never   enter  a  church  or  any  building  where  Christian   people 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  323 

would  be  willing  to  congregate.  Mr.  VVannamaker  acknowledged 
that  in  all  his  experience  he  had  never  seen  so  encouraging  a 
revival  among  the  young  men.  Every  service  had  been  crowded, 
and  there  never  had  been  sufficient  time  to  accommodate  all  who 
desired  to  speak  or  pray.  "This  depot,"  continued  the  speaker, 
"  may  be  from  this  day  forth  the  starting-point  of  many  trains  to 
heaven.  Only  keep  on  praying,  and  before  spring  comes  to  us 
again  five  thousand  young  men  will  welcome  it  as  Christians." 

Said  a  gentleman  :  "  Among  the  most  conspicuous  persons  at 
the  Rink  in  Brooklyn  was  a  man  of  over  fifty  years,  by  profession 
a  reporter,  apparently  of  the  sensational  sort.  Entering  into 
conversation  with  him  the  second  evening,  we  found  him  partly 
intoxicated,  ribald,  sneering,  and  professing  infidel  principles. 
Inquiring  further  concerning  him,  we  found  that  he  had  been 
several  times  in  the  city  jail,  for  misdemeanors  committed  while 
under  the  influence  of  liquor,  although  originally  a  man  of  culture 
and  polish. 

"Time  passed,  and  at  one  Friday  evening  meeting  the  same 
man,  conspicuous  by  his  commanding  figure,  sat  in  a  back  seat 
at  the  Simpson  Church.  I  ajcosted  him  once  more,  and  this 
was  the  answer : 

"  '  I  am  waiting  to  thank  Mr.  Moody,  who  under  God  has  been 
the  greatest  blessing  of  life  to  me.  I  have  given  up  my  engage- 
ment, the  temptations  of  which  are  such  as  no  Christian  can  face. 
And  I  am  a  Christian,  a  new  creature — not  reformed,  you  can't 
reform  a  drunkard ;  I  tried  that  a  hundred  times — but  regen- 
erated, born  again  by  the  grace  and  power  of  God.  I  have 
reported  sermons  many  a  time,  simply  to  ridicule  them,  but  never 
had  the  least  idea  what  true  religion  meant  till  I  heard  ]\Ir. 
Moody's  address  on  "Love  and  Sympathy"  ten  days  ago,  and  I 
would  not  have  believed  there  could  be  so  much  sweetness  in  a 
lifetime  as  had  been  condensed  into  those  ten  days.  My  chil- 
dren know  the  change ;  my  wife  knows  it ;  I  have  set  up  the 
family  altar,  and  the  appetite  for  liquor  has  been  so  utterly  taken 
away,  that  I  only  loathe  what  I  used  to  love.'  " 

The  most  interesting  part  of  the  meeting  was  the  storj'  told  by 


324  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Mrs.  Keen,  of  the  way  in  which  she  was  led,  when  19  years  of 
age,  to  give  herself  entirely  to  God ;  of  how  niany  times  she  felt 
that  she  must  give  up  everything  to  God  before  she  could  work 
for  him,  and  how  at  a  ladies'  meeting  she  was  afraid  to  rise  and 
say  that  she  would  give  up  her  will  to  God  because  the  '.adics 
would  say  she  was  such  a  young  giddy  girl.  It  would  be  all  gone 
to-morrow,  "and,"  said  Mrs.  Keen,  "they  did  say  so  But  I  felt 
from  that  hour  a  different  being.  That  it  was  all  between  God 
and  myself,  and  it  mattered  not  if  I  was  thought  singular,  so  long 
as  I  had  this  sweet  feeling  of  rest  and  peace  in  my  own  soul. 
The  thought  came,  Can  I  give  my  will  to  Him  ?  but  I  said.  Lord, 
I  take  Thy  will  to  be  mine,  so  mine  must  be  Thine." 

At  the  close  of  the  morning  service  an  inquiry-meeting  was 
opened  in  Rev.  Dr.  ]\IcCook's  church,  and  was  continued  all  the 
afternoon.  The  attendance  at  this  meeting  was  very  large  ana 
the  converts  many. 

Mr.  !Moody  arose  and  said  :  "  I  will  open  the  meeting  with  a 
very  few  remarks  about  the  inquiry-room.  We  have  a  great  deal 
of  trouble  with  people  coming  into  the  inquiry-room  on  outside 
business.  One  man  pressed  past  the  ushers  yesterday  and  wanted 
to  shake  hands  with  me  just  because  I  was  born  in  New  England ; 
another  wanted  to  see  me  because  I  once  lived  in  Chicago  ;  others 
want  to  present  requests  for  friends ;  others  want  to  talk  on  all 
sorts  of  subjects,  and  because  I  cannot  attend  to  them  think  I 
am  very  rude.  Now  I  don't  want  that  impression  to  get  abroad, 
and  therefore  ask  all  who  desire  to  talk  with  me  on  purely  per- 
sonal or  general  subjects,  to  try  and  find  some  other  time  for 
seeing  me."  The  leader  next  read  from  the  5lh  chapter  of  Ro- 
mans, beginning  at  the  7th  verse.  Continuing,  he  said  in  all 
cases  where  persons  had  been  blessed  in  the  Bible  they  were 
asked  to  go  home  and  tell  their  friends,  and  when  they  did  this, 
either  then  or  now,  many  more  souls  were  at  once  led  to  Christ. 
He  hoped  that  all  young  converts  would  confess  Christ  before 
the  world,  and  thus  be  the  means  of  leading  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  souls  to  the  Saviour. 

*' After  a  man  is  a  Christian  I  would  work  him  day  and  night 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  325 

I  believe   that  for  one  man  killed  by  over-work  in  the  cause  of 
Christ  ten  thousand  die  from  laziness." 

Mr.  Moody,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  address,  read  a  letter 
which  he  had  just  received  from  Manchester,  in  which  a  lady 
stated  that  all  on  behalf  of  whom  she  had  requested  prayer 
during  the  services  in  that  city  had  been  converted,  except  one, 
her  brother,  who  had  left  his  wife  and  family  after  bringing  dis 
grace  upon  the  family,  and  whose  misconduct  was  breaking  his 
father's  heart.  "  This  is  really  a  story  of  grace,"  said  Mr.  Moody  ; 
"for  this  lady  says  in  her  letter:  *If  he  would  but  come  home 
there  will  be  no  reproach.  Nothing  but  love.'  Perhaps  this 
man  may  have  wandered  in  here  this  afternoon,  or  he  may  be  in 
this  country.  Let  us  pray  that  he  may  be  brought  back,  and  that 
his  family  may  rejoice  over  the  return  of  the  wanderer. 

After  preaching  his  famous  discourses  on  Heaven,  Mr.  Moody 
turned  the  tide  of  men's  thoughts  very  sharply,  and  preached  on 
**Hell,"  taking  as  his  text  two  words  from  the  parable  of  Dives 
and  Lazarus,  "Son,  remember."  "I  can  well  imagine,"  said  he, 
"  that  if  you  had  known  what  I  was  to  preach  about  to-night 
many  would  have  staid  away ;  but  I  cannot  afford  to  have  it  said 
that  I  held  services  in  Philadelphia  for  four  weeks  and  never 
once  spoke  about  hell.  '  Son,  remember.'  These  are  the  words 
of  the  Lord  himself.  If  any  one  of  you  has  a  servant,  and  you 
send  him  with  a  message,  if  he  keeps  back  a  part  of  your  mes- 
sage because  he  thinks  it  too  harsh  you  would  dismiss  that  ser- 
vant at  once.  I  must  deliver  the  message  that  the  Lord  has 
given  me  as  I  find  it;  and  if  you  have  any  quarrel  about  these 
words  it  must  be  with  God  and  not  with  me.  The  thought  that 
we  take  memory  with  us  into  the  other  world  is  very  solemn. 
We  talk  about  forgetting  things,  but  the  fact  is  we  never  forget. 
Twice  I  have  been  very  near  to  death ;  and  all  my  past  life  came 
rushing  back  upon  me;  everything  that  I  had  done  crowded 
upon  my  memory.  My  whole  life  came  up  before  me,  tramp, 
tramp,  tramp.  When  God  says,  '  Son,  remember,'  all  the  past 
will  be  recalled.  We  talk  about  God's  book  of  record  ;  but  we 
will  need  no  one  to  tell  us  what  we  have  done,  for  He  makes 


326  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

every  man  keep  his  record.     Talk  about  God  condemning  us 
why,  we  shall  condemn  ourselves  ;    we  won't  want  any  one  to 
condemn  us.     Memory  will  come  up  against  us,  and  there  will  be 
no  need  of  any  witnesses  to  prove  our  guilt. 

"A  man  who  had  charge  of  a  swing-bridge  opened  it  just  to 
oblige  a  friend  who  said  there  was  plenty  of  time  for  his  boat  to 
pass  through  before  the  train  of  cars  came  along.  But  a  moment 
after  the  lightning  express  came  thundering  on  and  dashed  into  the 
dark  waters  below.  The  bridge-keeper,  whose  neglect  had  caused 
the  disaster,  lost  his  reason,  and  his  life  since  has  been  spent  in 
a  mad-house.  The  first  and  only  words  he  uttered  when  the 
train  leaped  into  the  open  chasm  were  :  '  If  I  only  had  ! '  and  he 
has  gone  constantly  repeating  the  vain  regret.  That  will  be  the 
cry  in  the  lost  world,  '  If  I  only  had  1 '  That  is  the  cry  of  men 
who  were  living  in  Philadelphia  a  year  ago.  Ask  the  man  in 
prison  what  it  is  that  makes  his  life  so  wearisome,  and  he  will 
'tell  you,  '  Memory,  memor3\'  And  in  the  prison-house  of  hell 
it  is  memory  that  makes  the  place  so  awful — to  think  what  they 
might  have  been  if  they  had  but  accepted  Christ  when  He  was 
offered  to  them.  A  young  man  met  the  deacon  of  a  church  one 
Sabbath  morning  and  asked  him  the  terrible  question :  '  How 
far  is  it  to  Hell.'"  'Young  man,'  was  the  reply, 'don't  mock 
such  a  serious  reality,  you  may  be  nearer  to  hell  than  you  think.' 
They  had  only  just  turned  the  corner  of  the  road,  and  ridden  a 
few  yards,  when  his  horse  threw  him  and  he  was  picked  up  dead. 
Some  of  you  went  out  of  this  building  last  night  laughing  and 
making  merry ;  you  mocked  at  the  idea  of  heaven,  and  when  its 
joys  were  offered  you,  you  kicked  them  away  like  a  foot-ball ;  but 
the  time  will  come  when  you  will  remember  that  service.  Some 
may  go  out  to-night  and  drown  the  memory  of  this  text  in  drink, 
but  it  will  come  up  in  the  other  world  and  then  you  can't  drown 
it  in  drink.  No  doubt  all  the  six  thousand  years  Cain  has  re- 
membered the  terrible  sin  he  committed,  and  has  heard  the 
vo/ce  of  that  loving  brother  whom  he  murdered.  Has  Judas 
ever  forgotten  how  he  betrayed  the  Son  of  God  with  a  kiss? 
How  that  word  haj  gnawed  away  at  kis  conscience  these  eighteen 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  327 

hundred  years !  I  tell  you  there  is  coming  a  time  wTien  yoii 
can't  forget.  Memory  is  the  worm  that  dicth  not.  It  is  the  same 
Bible  which  speaks  of  heaven  that  tells  us  of  liell.  There  is  no 
place  in  heaven  for  unprepared  men — for  those  who  are  unre- 
deemed. Besides,  what  are  such  men  going  to  do  if  they  get 
there  ^  Do  you  think  that  these  rumsellers,  who  are  destroying 
so  many  souls,  bodies  too,  as  well  as  souls,  and  making  so  many 
widows  and  orphans — are  they  going  to  heaven  without  repenting 
and  turning  to  God  for  salvation  ?  Or  these  men  that  are  cursing 
and  blaspheming  God — can  they  join  in  the  songs  of  heaven? 
Your  own  reason  tells  you  no.  Now  mercy  and  salvation  are 
offered,  but  in  the  lost  world  there  will  be  no  'Jesus  passing  by,' 
no  praying  mother,  no  praying  wife  there  ;  they  will  be  in  another 
world,  and  between  these  is  a  great  gulf  fixed.  Remember,  you 
have  got  a  praying  wife  to-night,  perhaps  she  is  sitting  by  your 
side.  You  can  be  saved  to-night.  God  offers  you  salvation  and 
mercy,  and  warns  you,  and  pleads  with  you  to  be  saved. 

"  It  is  but  one  step  out  of  yourself  into  Christ.  Perhaps  a 
loved  minister  has  been  pleading  with  you  for  many  years — there 
will  be  no  ministers  there.  You  may  laugh  and  scoff  at  these 
meetings — but  there  will  be  no  special  meetings  in  hell.  And 
■  this  service  to-night  will  come  to  you  by-and-by;  you  will  remem- 
ber how  the  preacher  plead  with  you  from  this  pulpit,  and  how 
Mr.  Sankey  sang.  There  will  be  no  young  man  there  putting 
his  hand  on  your  shoulder  and  asking  you  to  be  saved  ;  no  Sab- 
bath-school teacher  to  lead  you  to  Christ.  Why  not  say  now,  'I 
will  turn  to  the  God  of  my  mother;  I  will  this  night  seek  salva- 
tion,'for  God  says:  'Then  shall  ye  find  me, when  ye  shall  search 
for  me  with  all  your  heart.' 

"  I  have  heard  people  say,  '  These  meetings  make  men  worse 
instead  of  better.'  That  is  true — no  one  can  pass  through  these 
special  meetings  without  becoming  either  better  or  worse.  When 
people  have  been  stricken  down  by  your  side,  and  you  still  go  on 
living  in  sin,  you  will  soon  get  more  and  more  hardened.  The 
sermons  tliat  now  move  you  v/ill  make  no  impression." 

Mr.  Moody  related  an  incident  of  a  man  in  Chicago  who  twice 


328  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

determined  to  give  his  heart  to  God,  but  never  had  the  courage 
to  acknowledge  Christ  before  his  ungodly  companions.  When 
recovering  from  a  long  sickness,  he  still  refused  to  come  out 
boldly  on  the  side  of  Christ,  saying:  "Not  yet,  I  have  got  a 
fresh  lease  of  life.  I  can't  be  a  Christian  in  Chicago.  I  am 
going  to  take  a  farm  in  Michigan,  and  then  I  will  profess  Christ." 
"  I  asked  him,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "  How  dare  you  take  the  risk  ? " 
He  said,  "I  will  risk  it;  don't  you  trouble  yourself  any  more 
about  my  soul,  Mr.  Moody.  I  have  made  up  my  mind."  I 
never  left  a  man  with  a  sadder  heart  in  my  life.  The  very  next 
week  he  was  stricken  down  with  the  same  disease.  His  wife 
sent  for  me,  and  she  said,  "  He  don't  want  to  see  you,  but  I  can't 
bear  that  he  should  die  in  such  an  awful  state  of  mind.  He 
says,  "  My  damnation  is  sealed,  and  I  shall  be  in  hell  in  a  week." 
I  tried  to  talk  and  pray  with  him,  but  it  was  no  use ;  he  said  his 
heart  was  as  hard  as  a  stone.  "  Pray  for  my  wife  and  my  chil- 
dren, but  don't  waste  your  time  praying  for  me."  His  last  v/ords 
were:  "The  harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  I  am  not 
saved,"  and  then  the  angels  bore  him  away  to  judgment. 

Dr.  J.  Wheaton  Smith  offered  the  closing  prayer,  and  from  two 
to  three  hundred  persons  entered  the  inquiry-rooms,  while  the 
congregation  sang:  "Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul."  The  number  of 
workers  in  the  inquiry-rooms  is  gradually  increasing;  frequently 
upwards  of  forty  clergymen,  with  many  other  Christian  men  and 
women,  were  engaged  in  conversation  with  those  who  are  anxious 
to  find  salvation. 

Prayer  for  the  intemperate  was  again  the  theme  of  the  noon- 
day meeting,  as  on  the  two  previous  Fridays.  There  were  not 
less  than  five  thousand  persons  in  attendance.  Tslr.  Moody  said 
he  would  again  call  attention  to  the  new  birth.  "  I  don't  know," 
said  he,  "of  any  other  refuge  for  a  man  addicted  to  strong  drink. 
Unless  Christ  give  him  a  new  nature,  all  his  good  resolutions  and 
his  efforts  to  reform  himself  will  be  of  no  avail.  You  can't  find 
anything  in  Scripture  which  will  justify  a  man  in  the  belief  that 
he  can  leform  the  flesh.  It  is  only  when  the  new  life  is  given 
by  God  that  he  can  resist  temptation.     Flesh  is  flesh,  and  you 


THE   WORK    IN   PHILADELPHIA.  329 

cannot  improve  it.  Some  one  has  said,  *  God  never  mends  any- 
thing; He  creates  anew."  It  is  of  no  use  to  go  and  tell  a  man 
he  ought  to  reform  ;  just  tell  him  to  give  up  trying  and  accept 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  his  Saviour.  God  does  not  put  a  new 
piece  into  an  old  garment.  When  God  saves  a  drunkard  He 
takes  away  all  the  appetite.  Then  a  man  does  not  have  to  give 
up  the  drink ;  he  does  not  want  it  any  more,  has  no  desire  for  it. 
Why  I  would  just  as  soon  go  and  cat  mud  as  go  into  a  saloon 
and  drink.     I  have  got  something  better. 

"  Some  say,  '  Oh,  but  I  want  something  as  a  stimulant.'  Sup- 
pose you  do,  you  can  get  better  stimulants  than  drink.  When 
the  Spirit  of  God  fills  a  man's  heart,  and  he  gets  thorough  ac- 
quaintance with  his  Bible,  he  has  the  best  kind  of  stimulant. 
God  wants  every  poor  drunkard  to  become  a  partaker  of  the 
divine  nature.  Of  course  the  natural  man  don't  know  what  we 
are  talking  about;  we  must  be  born  of  God  before  we  receive 
spiritual  strength ;  with  God's  life  in  us  we  shall  overcome.  A 
man  who  has  been  intemperate  for  thirty  years,  and  who  would 
drink  five  glasses  before  breakfast,  has  just  been  reclaimed ;  he 
says  that  all  the  appetite  has  been  taken  away.  God  can  do  this 
for  every  poor  drunkard  in  Philadelphia,  and  he  has  done  it  for 
many  during  the  last  week  or  two." 

Mr.  Moody  then  read  a  letter  from  an  inquirer  who,  while  try- 
ing to  do  right,  knew  his  love  for  Christ  was  not  the  motive.  He 
had  come  to  a  meeting  hoping  some  word  might  be  spoken  which 
would  help  him  to  decide  the  question,  What  should  he  do  to  be 
saved  ?  Mr.  Moody  continued :  "  It  is  better  to  have  love  for 
Christ  than  to  lead  a  blameless  life  without  love.  Now,  the  sub- 
ject for  to-day  will  be  backsliding;  but  I  wish  to  say,  first,  that 
very  few  who  call  themselves  backsliders  ever  slid  forward  ;  they 
entered  the  church  for  some  personal,  social,  political,  or  business 
reasons,  and  when  they  left  it  they  were  no  worse  than  when  they 
went  in.  Now,  I  want  to  speak  to  those  who  have  really  once 
been  born  of  God.  Such  men  may  have  slid  backwards,  but 
they  are  never  satisfied,  for  any  man  who  was  once  converted 
finds  the  world  spoiled  for  him.     In  the  2d  chapter  of  Jeremiah 


330  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

you  will  f  nd  the  question, '  What  iniquity  have  your  fathers  found 
in  me?'  What  iniquity  have  you  found  in  God  that  you  should 
leave  Ilim?  That's  what  the  question  means.  A  backslider 
don't  leave  a  congregation  or  a  people  ;  he  leaves  God.  In  the 
19th  verse  you  will  find  the  words,  'Thine  own  wickedness  shall 
correct  thee,  and  thy  backslidings  shall  reprove  thee.'  Do  not 
think  God  can  let  such  faults  escape.  The  backsliders  are  the 
unhappiest  mortals  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  They  seem  to  think 
it's  a  very  light  thing  to  break  God's  law,  but  God  will  punish 
them.  God  says  to  the  backslider,  '  I  am  married  to  you ;  I  am 
merciful ;  but  only  acknowledge  your  sins  and  I  will  forgive  you. 
Turn,  O  backsliding  children  !  saith  the  Lord,  for  I  am  married 
unto  you.'  What  words  can  be  more  beautiful  than  these  ?  Why 
is  it  that  these  men  have  left  such  a  Father?  If  3^ou  will  only 
come  back  now  you  will  have  a  warm  welcome.  But  I  believe 
many  backsliders  are  still  Christians  outwardly,  but  they  have 
been  moving  away  in  heart.  They  neglect  secret  prayer  and 
become  very  formal  in  public  devotion.  Now,  one  very  great 
comfort  is  to  treat  Christ  and  think  of  Christ  as  a  personal  friend. 
If  I  should  go  from  here  to  Chicago,  I  should  bid  good-bye  to 
my  friends  here  before  I  started ;  but  did  you  ever  hear  of  a 
Christian  going  to  Christ  and  saying :  '  Oh,  Christ !  you  have 
been  a  dear  friend  to  me,  but  I  must  bid  you  good-bye  now.  I 
am  going  away  from  you,  and  never  expect  to  call  again.  Good- 
bye, for  I  am  going  back  to  the  world?'  Did  you  ever  hear  of 
any  one  backsliding  in  that  way?  I  never  did.  You  do  not 
bid  farewell  to  Christ ;  you  just  run  away  from  him  without  say- 
ing a  word.  All  you  need  do  now  is  to  come  back,  and  Christ 
will  receive  you." 

Sunday,  the  coldest  day  of  the  winter,  seemed  most  forbidding 
for  an  early  service.  Nevertheless,  at  the  eight  o'clock  service 
a  congregation  of  seven  thousand  gathered  to  listen  to  Mr. 
Moody's  address  on  "  Daniel."  Anticipation  of  a  rich  feast 
seemed  written  on  m.iny  faces,  for  a  goodly  number  had  heard  of 
the  remarkable  impression  made  by  the  delivery  of  this  address 
in  Brooklyn   and  in  the  cities  across  the  Atlantic.     Mr.  Moody 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  33 1 

had  an  audience  more  sympathetic  and  thoroughly  earnest  than 
perhaps  any  that  has  gathered  on  previous  Sunday  mornings. 
All  had  gathered  expecting  to  obtain  a  blessing  and  to  learn 
some  great  lessons  from  the  life  of  one  of  the  greatest  Bible 
characters ;  and  we  venture  to  say  no  one  went  away  disap- 
pointed. The  meeting  had  been  advertised  as  specially  for 
young  men,  and  probably  three-fourths  of  those  present  were  of 
that  class.  The  address  was  a  rapid  review  of  the  life  of  Daniel ; 
and  great  emphasis  was  laid  upon  the  fact  that  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  and  his  companions,  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed- 
nego  were  not  afraid  to  come  boldly  as  God's  servants.  When 
ordered  to  eat  meat  and  drink  wine  from  the  king's  table,  which 
had  been  offered  to  idols,  and  therefore  was  forbidden  to  the 
Jews,  they  refused.  That  is  often  the  turning-point  in  a  young 
man's  history  to  be  able  to  say  "  No,"  when  the  first  temptation 
of  city  life  is  presented  to  him.  During  an  address  which 
lasted  three-quarters  of  an  hour  the  most  wrapt  attention  was 
given  throughout. 

Mr.  Moody  spoke  in  the  afternoon  in  continuation  of  his  last 
Sabbath  afternoon's  subject,  which  was  on  the  text,  "  I  pray  thee, 
have  me  excused."  Many  people,  he  said,  made  the  doctrine  of 
election  an  excuse  why  they  cannot  accept  salvation.  He  be- 
lieved that  the  world  had  nothing  to  do  with  that  word  election; 
it  was  only  intended  for  the  church,  not  for  the  unconverted  ;  the 
only  word  that  the  unconverted  have  to  do  with  is  *' whosoever ;" 
Christ  settled  the  question  by  telling  John  to  write,  "Whosoever 
will,  let  him  come  and  drink  of  the  water  of  life  freely."  "  Do 
you  think  that  God  offers  the  cup  of  salvation  to  all  men,  and 
then,  just  as  you  are  going  to  drink,  he  snatches  it  away, 
and  says,  'Oh,  but  you  are  not  one  of  the  elect?'  God  doesn't 
do  anything  of  the  kind.  Some  young  people  say  that  religion 
is  going  to  make  them  gloomy,  and  they  want  to  enjoy  life  before 
they  accept  salvation.  Who  told  you  that  lie  ?  Pardon  for  the 
condemned,  bread  for  the  hungry,  a  feast  in  the  wilderness — are 
thes3  likely  to  make  men  gloomy  ?  None  are  too  young,  and  a 
mavriage  feast  is  just  the  thing  likely  to  make  the  young  hippy. 


332  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Some  people  stumble  over  their  intellect,  and  say  they  can't 
understand  religion.  There  are  hundreds  of  things  we  believe 
that  we  cannot  understand.  Many  parts  of  the  Bible  I  don't 
understand  ;  but  I  am  not  going  to  fight  against  my  Lord  with 
my  puny  reason. 

" That  excuse  will  not  serve  us  on  the  last  day.  We  can-t  say 
then  that  we  didn't  come  because  God  gave  us  too  much  reason 
and  intellect.  Some  make  the  excuse  that  they  are  too  bad. 
We  preach  a  Gospel  for  the  very  worst;  but  you  can't  clothe 
yourselves  with  your  own  righteousness ;  you  must  have  the 
righteousness  of  Christ.  Many  think  they  must  prepare  them- 
selves. God  wants  you  just  as  you  are  in  all  your  guilt  and  rags. 
If  you  come  as  princes  He  sends  you  away  as  beggars ;  if  you 
come  as  beggars  He  sends  you  away  as  princes.  Just  because 
our  hearts  are  so  bad  is  the  reason  we  need  a  Saviour ;  the 
harder  the  heart,  the  more  need  you  have  of  Christ.  Nobody 
tells  us  we  must  weep  over  our  sins  so  many  hours;  it  ain't 
necessary  to  shed  tears  to  get  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Feeling 
is  the  last  plank  the  devil  throws  out  just  when  a  man  is  almost 
ready  to  step  on  the  Rock  of  Ages.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to 
believe — not  believe  yourselves,  but  believe  in  Christ.  You 
can't  give  a  reason  for  not  accepting  the  invitation.  All  your 
excuses  are  a  tissue  of  lies.  Do  you  say  you  have  not  time  ? 
Make  time.  Say,  as  a  lady  did  last  week,  *  I  won't  leave  this 
room  until  I  have  found  salvation ; '  and  she  went  out  soon  after 
rejoicing  in  sins  pardoned." 

At  the  close  of  the  sermon  no  less  than  five  hundred  rose  for 
prayer,  and  a  very  solemn  feeling  was  prevalent  throughout  the 
vast  assembly. 

In  the  evening  the  same  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Moody 
to  a  crowded  audience,  of  which  the  greater  portion  were  men. 

'Hie  afternoon  service  was  the  most  effective  in  results  of  any 
that  has  yet  been  held.  Three  inquiry-rooms  were  thronged. 
Those  who  sought  religious  conversation  were  for  the  most  part 
such  as  were  evidently  under  divine  influence.  It  not  unfrcqucntly 
happens  that  persons  embrace  the  invitation  to  the  inquiry  room 


THE   WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  333 

just  for  Ihe  purpose  of  airing  their  religious  crotchets,  or  seeking 
the  evangelist's  opinion  upon  some  peculiar  tenet  to  which  they 
may  be  attached.  Some  are  anxious  to  have  an  argumentative 
encounter  on  a  doctrinal  point,  or  an  intellectual  set-to  as  to  the 
reasonableness  of  some  plain  statement  of  Scripture.  All  such 
receive  the  cold  shoulder  from  both  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey, 
as  well  as  from  most  of  their  fellow-workers ;  and  the  cavilers 
and  questioners  are  beginning  to  learn  that  the  inquiry-room  is 
no  place  for  them  unless  they  come  prepared  humbly  and  honestly 
to  seek  direction  from  the  Holy  Spirit  through  conversation  with 
Christian  men  and  women. 

Rev.  Dr.  C.  D.  Cooper  said :  "  Probably  no  man  has  ever 
addressed  a  more  distinguished  congregation  in  this  city  than 
that  to  which  Mr.  Moody  preached  last  night.  While  we  are 
asking  blessings  for  others,  do  not  let  us  forget  to  pray  that  the 
words  spoken  in  the  ears  of  the  President,  his  Cabinet,  the 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  many  members  of  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  might  prove  to  each  one  of  them 
words  of  salvation.  What  an  influence  would  go  out  through  the 
distant  parts  of  our  beloved  land  if  truth  and  righteousness 
should  prevail  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  fill  important  offices  at 
the  seat  of  government." 

Rev.  J.  Wheaton  Smith  then  prayed  very  fervently  for  the  dis- 
tinguished men  who  were  in  the  congregation  last  evening.  "We 
pray,"  said  he,  "for  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  these  United  States. 
We  thank  Thee,  O  God,  for  what  Thou  hast  wrought  by  him  in 
the  past,  and  for  the  honor  given  him  amongst  men !  We  pray 
for  a  still  greater  glory  to  rest  upon  him — the  crown  of  a  forgiven 
sinner.  Help  him  to  feel  in  the  discharge  of  his  important  duties 
that  there  is  a  duty  which  he  owes  to  himself  in  regard  to  his 
own  salvation." 

The  occasion  of  these  remarks  and  this  prayer  w^as  this-:  A 
large  party  of  gentlemen  from  Washington,  who  were  invited  to 
visit  and  inspect  the  Centennial  preparations,  took  occasion  to 
hear  the  evangelists,  and  on  Sunday  evening,  the  19th,  the  follow- 
ing distinguished  persons  v/erc  upon   the  platform ;    President 


334  M0  3DY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA 

Grant ;  Hon.  George  M.  Robeson,  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  ex* 
Gov.  Jewell,  Postmaster-General.  cx-Secretary  Borie ;  Hon. 
George  Bancroft;  Judge  Strong,  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court ;  Governor  Hartranft ;  ex-Governor  Joel  Parker,  of  New 
Jersey ;  ex-Governor  Bigler ;  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Scott ;  Col.  Fred. 
Grant  and  lady ;  Bishop  Simpson,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church;  Judge  Buell,  of  New  York ;  ex-Speaker  Blaine;  Hon. 
Morton  McMichael ;  General  Patterson  ;  General  Garfield  ;  Sen- 
ator Christiancy,  of  Michigan  ;  Senator  Wallace  and  wife  ;  ex- 
Senator  Cattell ;  Congressmen  Wells,  of  Mississippi ;  Thompson, 
of  Massachusetts ;  Purham,  of  Florida ;  Judge  Pierce  ;  Messrs. 
George  H.  Stuart,  G.  W.  Childs,  and  John  C.  Bulli. 

When  these  prominent  and  well-known  men  appeared  on  the 
platform  there  was  quite  a  commotion  in  the  congregation,  and 
many  evinced  a  disposition  to  applaud. 

Bishop  Simpson  made  the  opening  prayer,  and  pleaded  very 
earnestly  for  a  blessing  upon  the  President  and  his  Cabinet,  for 
the  Governors  of  States,  and  all  in  authority. 

It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  Mr.  Moody  preached  on  Sun- 
day night.  He  had  contracted  a  severe  cold,  and  the  exertion 
of  speaking  during  the  early  services  of  the  day,  and  conversing 
with  the  inquirers  for  an  hour  besides,  had  rendered  him  very 
hoarse.  As  he  warmed  up  in  his  discourse,  however,  his  voice 
became,  for  the  time  at  least,  stronger  and  clearer,  and  he  spoke 
with  almost  his  wonted  earnestness — at  fully  his  usual  rapidity. 
Governor  Hartranft,  on  leaving  the  building,  said  that  he  had 
lieard  so  much  of  Mr.  Moody's  power  to  influence  a  great  pop- 
ular assembly,  that  he  had  in  advance  formed  a  very  high  esti- 
mate of  his  ability  as  a  public  speaker.  After  listening  to  him 
he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  all  his  friends  had  told  him  of 
Mr.  Moody  was  by  no  means  exaggerated. 

President  Grant  expressed  himself  as  greatly  pleased  with  the 
entire  service,  being  especially  gratified  with  the  singing  of  Mr 
Sankey.  Ex-Speaker  Blaine  thought  Mr.  Moody  was  a  wonder- 
ful man,  and  others  of  the  distinguished  visitors  who  occupied 
seats  on  the  platform  expressed  themselves  in  similar  terms  of 
gratification. 


..iE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA. 


335 


During  the  progress  of  the  revival,  the  question  often  recurs 
as  to  the  results  achieved  by  such  vast  expenditures  and  labors. 
These  are  well  summed  up  in  the  following  paragraphs: 

Thousands  of  men  and  women  gather  every  day  in  the  week 
out  of  the  busy  masses  of  this  great  city  to  hear  the  gospel  of 
Christ  preached  in  simplicity  and  directness.  Very  many  of 
these  hearers  are  not  in  the  habit  of  church  attendance.  They 
are  told  plainly  of  their  need  of  salvation,  and  urged  to  yield 
themselves  to  the  service  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Many  others  of 
them  are  professed  followers  of  Christ,  who  have  been  cold  and  in- 
active in  his  service.  They  are  called  on  to  be  up  and  doing  for  their 
ISIaster,  and  are  told  just  how  and  where  to  work  for  Him. 
Each  day  hundreds  of  the  unconverted  from  among  these  hearers 
ask  the  prayers  of  Christians  in  their  behalf,  and  enter  the  in- 
quiry-rooms for  personal  conversation  with  God's  children  as  to 
their  needs  and  duty.  Many  of  the  church  members  also  are 
beginning  Christian  work  with  new  zeal  and  new  efficiency. 
^Liny  of  those  who  have  not  been  avowed  disciples  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  declare  their  readiness  to  trust  and  serve  Him  heartily. 
Moreover,  hundreds  of  requests  from  those  outside  come  up 
daily  for  special  prayer,  and  on  these  calls  God's  children  plead 
with  Him  for  answers  of  peace  accordingly.  There  are  meetings 
for  particular  classes  from  time  to  time.  Christian  workers  are 
appealed  to  as  such.  Sunday-school  teachers  receive  special 
instruction.  The  unconverted  are  invited  and  addressed  by 
themselves.  Young  men  are  brought  together  and  counseled 
religiously.  Drunkards  are  talked  to  plainly  and  prayed  for 
earnestly.  Women  and  men  meet  by  themselves,  and  sermons 
are  preached  for  their  exclusive  benefit. 

All  this  in  itself  is  a  great  matter.  No  ordinary  curiosity 
would  bring  together  such  audiences  day  after  day  for  weeks  to- 
gether. Mr.  Moody  is  now  well  known,  and  most  who  cared 
merely  to  see  and  hear  him  have  been  gratified.  His  style  of 
preaching  is  so  simple  that  many  who  hear  him  wonder  at  its 
power ;  but  there  is  no  diminishing  of  the  crdwds  in  attendance 
week  by  week.      No  undue  excitement  gathers  and  holds  these 


33^  MOODY   AND   SANKEY   IN   AMERICA. 

hearers.  All  is  quiet  and  calm  at  the  meetings.  The  preachef 
makes  no  effort  to  sway  his  audiences  by  strong  appeals  to  their 
passions.  The  choice  he  sets  before  them  is  simply  that  which 
the  gospel  offers  wherever  it  is  faithfully  proclaimed.  The  in- 
terest in  the  meetings  is  a  healthy  interest  in  the  cause  and 
truth  which  they  represent.  The  fact  that  it  is  exceptional — or 
unusual — only  makes  it  the  more  important.  Men  of  marked 
influence  in  the  community,  who  have  been  known  in  almost 
every  sphere  but  that  of  personal  religion,  are  from  time  to  time 
seen  in  attendance  at  these  meetings,  on  the  platform  or  in  the 
body  of  the  house.  Even  if  they  come  from  curiosity  alone, 
there  is  reason  for  rejoicing  that  they  are  at  last  curious  in  this 
direction.  It  is  well  for  them  to  turn  aside  from  their  usual 
occupations  and  hear  the  gospel  preached.  If  many  who  are 
accustomed  to  follow  their  lead  in  other  things  imitate  them  in 
this,  there  will  be  a  gain  thereby.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  it 
fashionable  for  sinners  to  listen  to  straightforward  earnest  appeals 
to  repent  and  be  converted. 

The  record  of  these  meetings  is  given  day  by  day  in  the  daily 
papers.  The  words  of  the  preacher  are  repeated  by  the  press 
throughout  the  country,  so  that  hundreds  of  thousands  have  the 
gospel  preached  to  them  morning  and  evening  from  one  week's 
end  to  another,  through  this  agency  alone.  Editorial  comments 
in  the  secular  papers  on  this  theme  are  frequent  and  pointed. 
Indeed,  both  Christians  and  the  unconverted  have  been  wisely 
counseled  and  cautioned  by  many  a  secular  paper  "  leader." 
This  in  addition  to  all  that  the  religious  papers  have  to  say  on 
the  same  important  subject ;  and  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that 
the  tone  of  the  religious  press  as  a  whole  has  been  elevated  and 
bettered  through  the  influences  of  which  these  meetings  arc  an 
outgrowth.  It  can  safely  be  asserted  that  never  before  was  so 
much  promincnct  given  by  the  secular  press  of  the  United  States 
to  religious  matters  and  to  the  direct  presentation  of  Christian 
truth.  The  revival  of  1858  bore  no  comparison  with  the  present 
revival  in  this  particular. 

In  the  churches  of  Philadelphia  there  is  more  than  a  common 


THE    WORK    IN    I'll  ILADELPIIIA.  337 

interest  in  Christ  and  his  salvation.  7'his  is  true  almost  without 
exception,  even  if  in  any  instance  the  pastor  himself  fails  as  yet 
to  perceive  it ;  for  the  churches  are  not  so  shut  out  from  the  pre- 
vailing current  of  popular  feeling  that  they  can  be  excluded  from 
an  influence  as  general  as  that  which  now  pervades  this  com- 
munit}'.  Those  pastors  who  participate  most  heartily  in  the 
special  revival  meetings  naturally  share  most  richly  in  the 
attendant  blessings ;  yet  all  have  new  opportunities  of  hopeful 
work  in  their  fields  of  church  labor.  If  there  is  no  considerable 
gain  in  any  of  these  churches,  it  will  not  be  because  there  is  no 
special  interest  in  religious  things  in  that  church  and  in  the  com- 
munity about  it.  On  all  sides  unsaved  men  and  w^omen  are  unusu- 
ally ready  to  be  conversed  with,  prayed  for,  taken  by  the  hand  and 
led  to  a  waiting  Saviour.  All  who  make  the  experiment  of  intro- 
ducing the  subject  of  personal  religion,  in  conversation  with  those 
whom  they  meet  in  business  or  in  social  intercourse,  find  signs  of 
this  peculiar  readiness — one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  in  any 
season  of  revival. 

These  results  are  in  themselves  great  results.  If  they  are  to 
be  counted  unimportant,  then  may  also  the  ordinary  preaching  of 
the  gospel  in  our  sanctuaries,  and  the  attendance  thereat  of 
Christians  and  of  unconverted  hearers,  be  looked  at  as  of  little 
worth,  because  so  few  new  converts  are  made  each  week,  so  little 
progress  is  marked  in  Christian  attainment,  and  so  many  days  of 
attention  to  the  world  and  its  interests  follow  each  day  of  pausing 
to  consider  the  things  of  God.  The  beginning  is  good.  "  The 
end  is  not  yet."  How  much  more  is  to  come  out  of  this  revival 
work  cannot  now  be  known.  Up  to  this  time  there  is  every  rea- 
son to  rejoice  in  what  God  is  accomplishing  through  this  agency. 

A  weighty  responsibility  rests  now  in  the  churches,  and  on  all 
Christian  workers  in  this  cit}',  and  elsewhere  as  widely  as  the 
knowledge  of  these  revival  meetings  extends.  God  is  doing  great 
thijigs  before  us  all.  He  has  called  the  attention  of  the  com- 
munity to  the  theme  of  personal  religion.  Multitudes  who  were  « 
thoughtless  on  this  subject  a  little  time  ago  arc  now  thinking 
about  it  earnestly.  They  are  easy  of  approach.  They  would  like 
'5 


338  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

to  be  talked  with.  They  are  not  yet  ready  to  go  to  any  pastor's 
study  and  ask  the  way  of  salvation  ;  not  yet,  perhaps,  to  go  into 
the  inquiry-rooms  at  the  Depot  Church.  But  they  are  thinking 
of  themselves  as  sinners  in  need  of  a  Saviour,  and  the  one  thing 
lacking  to  turn  their  steps  thitherward  may  be  a  word  from  a 
Christian  believer  of  their  acquaintance.  If  this  harvest  time 
passes  and  they  are  still  unsaved,  others  than  Mr.  Moody  and  his 
immediate  co-workers  in  the  present  series  of  meetings  will  have 
a  share  in  the  blame.  Systematic,  earnest,  untiring  work  on  the 
part  of  Christians  far  and  near,  in  the  line  of  direct,  personal  vis- 
itation and  appeal,  to  induce  those  who  are  now  without  a  trust 
in  Christ  as  their  Saviour  to  come  to  Him  in  penitence  and  faith, 
is  the  urgent  demand  of  the  hour.  "  Son  of  man,  I  have  made 
thee  a  watchman  unto  the  house  of  Israel ;  therefore  hear  the 
word  at  my  mouth,  and  give  them  warning  from  me.  When  I 
say  unto  the  wicked,  Thou  shalt  surely  die  ;  and  thou  givest  him 
not  warning,  nor  speakest  to  warn  the  wicked  from  his  wicked 
way,  to  save  his  life;  the  same  wicked  man  shall  die  in  his  in- 
iquity; but  his  blood  will  I  require  at  thine  hand." 

Mr.  Moody  says  truly,  that  the  test  of  a  revival  is  the  prominence 
it  gives  to  Bible  study,  the  power  it  has  in  turning  men  to  the  exam- 
ination of  God's  Word,  that  they  may  learn  therefrom  of  their 
danger,  their  need,  their  duties,  their  encouragements,  their 
helps,  and  their  hopes.  From  the  days  of  Nehemiah  down  to 
the  present  time,  every  true  revival  of  pure  religion  has  shown 
itself  in  a  new  interest  in  God's  law  and  testimonies  on  the  part 
of  leaders  and  people. 

Hence  it  is  that  the  present  great  revival  is  a  blessed  and  hope- 
ful revival  ;  for  it  secures  a  prominence  to  God's  Word  beyond 
anything  which  has  been  known  since  "  all  the  people  "  of  the 
Jewish  nation  "gathered  themselves  together  as  one  man  into 
the  street,"  to  hear  and  study  "the  book  of  the  law  of  God," 
"  day  by  day,  from  the  first  day  unto  the  last  day  "  of  the  pro- 
tracted meeting  which  followed  their  return  from  captivity. 

Never  in  the  best  days  of  olden  time  was  there  anythini^  like 
the  present  interest  in  Bible-study,  in  the  home,  in  the  Sunday- 


THE    WORK    IN    PIIILADELPIIIA.  339 

school,  in  the  social  religious  meeting.  More  people  are  study 
ing  the  Bible  than  ever  before.  A  larger  proportion  of  all  the 
people  are  engaged  in  this  study.  The  study  is  more  systematic, 
more  intelligent,  more  thorough,  and  more  fruitful  than  at  any 
former  time.  This  interest  in  Bible-study  is  not  by  any  means 
exclusively  a  result  of  the  meetings  led  by  Mr.  Moody.  It  is  a 
result  of  the  work  of  God  in  which  the  Moody  meetings  are  a  sin- 
gle element,  and  of  which  they  are  an  evidence  rather  than  a 
cause.  But  Mr.  Moody  works  in  the  line  of  God's  providence 
in  this  particular.  He  values  Bible-study.  He  urges  it  on  all. 
He  leads  many  to  it.  Through  his  labors  and  appeal  Biblfr- 
study  increases,  and  its  methods  improve. 

It  was  a  remarkable  and  a  most  gratifying  fact,  that  at  the  early 
morning  meeting  last  Sunday,  at  the  Depot  Church,  on  a  dark, 
damp,  chilly  day,  from  six  to  eight  thousand  persons  came 
together  expressly  to  be  told  how  to  study  the  Bible  to  best 
advantage.  Mr.  Moody  said  that  he  counted  it  the  most  encour- 
aging meeting  he  had  ever  atrended  in  America.  If  he  had  been 
told  five  years  ago  that  that  number  of  persons  would  come 
together  for  such  a  purpose,  on  such  a  da)^,  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia, he  would  have  said  that  the  man  was  crazy  who  sug- 
gested it.  A  very  large  proportion  of  all  present  at  that  meeting 
had  their  Bibles,  and  used  them  freely,  and  very  many  in  the  audi- 
ence were  taking  notes  freely,  as  Mr.  Moody  told  of  the  methods 
he  valued  in  the  effort  to  search  out,  and  to  profit  by,  the  truths 
of  the  Bible.  It  was  pleasant  to  hear  that  building  "  rustle  wi' 
religion,''  as  the  thousands  of  Bible  leaves  were  turned  together 
at  the  leader's  call. 

If  Mr.  Moody's  work  in  Philadelphia  had  no  other  result  than 
the  bringing  of  disciples,  old  and  new,  to  the,  more  intelligent 
and  systematic  study  of  the  Bible,  it  would  prove  a  rich  blessing 
to  the  entire  community.  The  entrance  of  God's  words  giveth 
light ;  it  giveth  understanding  to  the  simple.  God's  words  are 
able  to  make  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith  which  is  in  Chrisi 
Jesus.  The  believer  is  to  be  sanctified  by  God's  truth.  God'.«- 
Word  is  truth. 


^40  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

How  TO  Use  your  Bible. 

I  have  been  wonderfully  cheered,  said  Mr.  Moody,  in  going  to 
Uie  young  men's  meeting,  to  hear  so  much  scripture  quoted. 
Any  revival  that  don't  bring  people  to  their  Bible  is  a  sham,  and 
will  last  only  for  a  few  weeks ;  but  if  the  people  are  brought  to 
love  the  Word  of  God,  there  will  be  a  revival  that  will  last  365 
days  in  the  year. 

In  Nchemiah  viii.  2,  we  read  that  Ezra,  the  priest,  brought  the 
law  before  the  congregation  both  of  men  and  women  in  the  street, 
and  he  read  therein  from  morning  until  midday;  and  in  the 
eighth  verse,  it  is  said,  "they  read  in  the  book  in  the  law  of  God 
distinctly,  and  gave  the  sense,  and  caused  them  to  understand 
the  reading."  I  can  imagine  the  priest  reading  the  passage 
over  twenty  times  until  the  people  understood  it.  Bible  Chris- 
tians are  all  the  time  rejoicing  in  the  Lord,  for  the  Lord  is  their 
strength,  but  the  people  who  neglect  their  Bibles  are  in  a  back- 
sliding state. 

Mr.  Moody  quoted  Jeremiah  xx.  9,  to  show  that  Christian  men 
are  constrained  to  open  their  lips  and  speak  for  the  Lord.  He 
said  :  If  the  Holy  Ghost  is  our  Teacher,  we  will  understand  the 
Word  of  God.  The  best  thing  to  interpret  the  Bible  is  the  Bible 
itself. 

There  are  three  books  every  Christian  ought  to  have.  The 
Bible,  Cruden's  Concordance,  and  the  "  Bible  Text-Book,"  pub- 
lished by  the  Tract  Society. 

Newspapers  only  tell  you  what  has  taken  place  ;  this  book  tells 
you  what  is  going  to  take  place.  Take  up  one  subject  at  a  time. 
Take  up  '*  love,"  and  spend  a  month  upon  it.  Take  a  concordance 
and  go  through  the  Bible  with  it  upon  this  subject,  and  then  you 
will  be  full  of  love,  and  the^re  will  be  no  room  for  malice  and 
hatred  in  your  heart.  Aftei  that  take  up  "  faith  ; "  it  is  better  to 
go  to  the  Word  of  God  an. I  get  faith  than  to  pray  for  it.  Then 
lake  up  "blood;"  it  shows  the  way  to  heaven.  Now  take  up 
"heaven,"  and  spend  munlhs  upon  it.  Then  "prayer.''  We 
do  not  know  how  to  pray  is  we  ought  to.    Nine-tenths  of  us  read 


THE   WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  34I 

the  Bible  just  to  case  our  conscience.  You  do  not  get  the  whole 
Bible  by  reading  it  in  that  way.  In  family  worship  people  often 
put  a  mark  in  iheir  Bible  to  know  where  they  left  off.  I  hoed 
corn  when  a  boy,  and  I  used  to  put  down  a  stick  to  know  where 
I  left  off;  so  it  is  with  reading  the  Bible.  The  only  way  for  us 
to  study  the  Bible  is  to  take  up  one  subject  and  try  to  masterthat 
subject.  A  man  said  to  me,  "  Can  you  recommend  the  best  Life 
of  Christ?"  I  said  I  could  recommend  four — Matthew,  Mark, 
Luke,  and  John.  A  man  had  better  spend  a  year  over  these  four 
Gospels  than  to  run  over  the  whole  Bible.  If  a  man  studies  Gen- 
esis he  has  a  key  to  tlie  whole  Bible.  It  is  the  beginning  of 
everything,  and  then  the  other  parts  of  the  Bible  will  unfold 
themselves  to  us.  Let  us  take  the  Bible  up  with  some  object  in 
view — to  get  at  some  truth.  In  California  the  best  gold  is  found 
at  the  greatest  depth ;  and  so  with  the  Word  of  God,  the  best 
part  is  deepest.  Here  is  some  law  document;  it  is  uninteresting. 
Now  suppose  it  is  the  will  of  some  man,  giving  you  a  great  inher- 
itance, you  will  become  interested.  This  Book  tells  me  of  this 
inheritance.  What  can  the  geologist  tell  you  about  the  Rock  of 
Ages  ?  He  can  tell  you  about  the  rocks  of  this  world.  What 
does  the  astronomer  know  about  the  bright  and  morning  star? 
He  can  tell  you  about  other  stars.  God  did  not  tell  Joshua  how 
to  use  the  sword  and  fight  in  the  promised  land,  but  he  told  him 
to  meditate  upon  the  law  day  and  night,  and  no  one  could  stand 
before  him.  These  words  apply  to  every  one  here.  This  sword 
cuts  right  and  left,  and  with  it  a  man  can  cut  his  enemies  right 
up  to  the  throne  of  God. 

A  man  filled  with  the  Spirit  dwells  much  with  the  Scripture.  Pe- 
ter quoted  Scripture  at  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  he  was  full  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  This  is  the  sword  of  the  Spirit.  What  is  a  man 
good  for  if  he  has  no  weapon  ?  We  don't  know  how  to  use  this 
sword ;  we  should  get  into  the  habit  of  using  it.  David  says  : 
"Thy  Word  have  I  hid  in  my  heart."  A  good  thing  in  a  good 
place  for  a  good  purpose.  If  you  lose  your  health,  you  lie  upon 
your  bed  and  feed  upon  the  Word  of  God. 

When  you  meet  together  to  dine  it  is  better  to  bring  out  the 


342  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Bible  than  to  bring  on  wine.  I  was  glad  in  England  at  seeing 
that  done  in  a  great  many  of  the  houses  of  the  upper  classes.  An 
Englishman  said  to  me,  "Moody,  did  you  ever  study  the  life  of 
Job  ?  "  I  said,  "  No,  I  never  did."  He  said,  "  If  you  get  a  key 
to  Job  you  get  a  key  to  the  whole  Bible."  "What  has  Job  to  do 
with  the  Bible.?"  He  said:  "I  will  tell  you.  I  will  divide  the 
subject  into  seven  heads.  First,  Job,  before  he  was  tried,  was  a 
perfect  man  untried.  He  was  like  Adam  in  Eden  until  Satan 
came  in.  Second,  he  was  tried  by  adversity.  Third,  the  wisdom 
of  the  world  is  represented  by  Job's  friends  trying  to  restore  him. 
See  what  language  they  used.  They  were  wonderful  wise  men, 
but  they  could  not  help  Job  out  of  his  difficulties.  Men  are  mis- 
erable comforters  when  they  do  not  understand  the  grace  of  God. 
Job  could  stand  his  scolding  wife  and  his  boils  better  than  these 
men's  arguments;  they  made  him  worse  instead  of  better.  Fifth, 
God  speaks,  and  Job  humbles  himself  in  the  dust.  God,  before 
He  saves  a  man,  brings  him  down  into  the  dust.  He  does  not 
talk  about  how  he  has  fed  the  hungry  and  clothed  the  naked,  but 
he  sajs,  '  I  am  vile.'  Seventh,  God  restores  him,  and  the  last 
end  of  Job  was  better  than  the  first.  So  the  last  state  of  man  is 
better  than  the  first.  It  is  better  than  the  state  of  Adam,  because 
Adam  might  have  lived  ten  thousand  years  and  then  fallen; 
therefore  it  is  better  for  us  to  be  outside  of  Eden  with  Christ  than 
that  we  should  be  in  Eden  without  Him.  God  gave  Job  double 
as  much  wealth  as  he  had  before,  but  He  only  gave  him  ten  chil- 
dren. He  had  ten  before  his  calamity  came  upon  him.  That  is 
worthy  of  notice.  God  would  not  admit  that  Job  had  lost  any 
children.     He  gave  him  ten  here  and  ten  in  heaven. 

We  want  the  Word  of  God  so  hidden  in  our  hearts  that  we  will 
be  constrained  to  speak  of  Him.  Many  flinty  hearts  and  scoffers 
have  come  to  the  meetings,  but  before  they  left  they  have  been 
converted  to  God.  A  man  while  in  a  saloon  picked  up  a  news- 
paper containing  a  report  of  one  of  the  meetings,  the  first  line  of 
which  was,  "  Where  art  thou  ?"  The  man  was  struck  with  it,  and 
said  to  himself,  "  I  am  not  in  the  right  place,"  and  left.  He  came 
to  the  meetings  and  was  conve'  ted,  and  is  now,  said  the  speaker, 


THE   WORK    IN   PHILADELPHIA.  343 

leading  a  Christian  life.  We  must  take  the  Bible  without  preju- 
dice, and  not  as  Methodists,  Baptists,  Presbyterians,  or  Episco- 
palians. He  advised  all  to  have  a  Bible  which  they  could  call 
their  own,  and  to  get  the  best  that  could  be  procured.  It  might 
be  said  that  it  cost  too  much  money ;  but  so  much  the  better,  it 
would  be  valued  all  the  more,  and  would  stand  usage  longer.  He 
had  carried  the  Bible  he  now  used  to  California  and  to  Europe 
and  back,  and  nothing  would  induce  him  to  part  with  it.  It  had 
been  a  great  comfort  to  him,  and  he  had  found  much  pleasure  in 
it.  It  might  be  argued  that  the  kind  he  recommended  is  too 
large  for  a  man  to  put  in  his  pocket.  Then  carry  it  under  your 
arm  ;  you  should  always  be  willing  to  show  your  colors.  In  study- 
ing it,  it  would  be  well  to  have  a  copy  of  Cruden's  Concordance 
and  a  Scriptural  text-book.  These  three  books  make  a  very  good 
library.  There  is  no  better  book  to  study  the  Bible  with  than  the 
Bible  itself.  It  is  the  best  news-book  that  there  is.  The  news- 
paper only  tells  of  the  news  of  the  day,  while  the  Sacred  Volume 
tells  of  what  will  take  place.  The  Book  should  be  taken  up  topic- 
ally ;  that  is,  take  "  love  "  as  a  topic,  and  see  how  much  the  Bible 
has  to  say  upon  that  subject.  By  that  means  you  learn  all  about 
it,  and  can  readily  answer  any  question  that  may  arise  upon  that 
subject.  After  that  the  word  "  blood"  can  be  taken  up,  in  order 
to  find  out  how  often  that  word  occurs  in  the  blessed  Book,  and 
how  it  is  used.  So  other  topics  might  be  studied,  such  as  "  Faith," 
"  Heaven,"  "  Charity,"  and  very  many  others.  By  this  means  a 
very  good  knowledge  will  be  obtained  of  the  Bible.  Those  who 
do  it  in  that  manner  will  be  surprised  at  the  amount  of  informa- 
tion that  they  obtain  and  the  interest  they  will  take  in  it.  The 
Book  will  become  very  precious  to  them,  and  they  will  never  want 
to  be  without  it.  A  man  once  asked  the  speaker  what  was  the 
best  life  of  Christ.  He  replied  that  he  did  not  know.  ^Matthew 
wrote  a  very  good  account,  so  did  Mark  and  Luke,  but  the  speaker 
liked  John's  account  the  best.  Some  people  read  the  Bible  as 
though  they  did  it  merely  to  ease  their  conscience.  They  take  it 
up,  perhaps,  and  read  a  chapter  without  reflection,  and  then  lay 
it  aside  with  a  mark  indicating  where  they  left  off,  just  as  they 


344  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

would  do  with  any  other  book.  If  you  ever  expect  to  understand 
the  Word  of  God  you  must  study  it ;  you  must,  as  it  were,  dig 
and  delve  through  it.  A  great  many  people  carry  the  Bible  in 
their  hands  instead  of  their  hearts.  The  speaker  then  illustrated 
how  the  Book  should  be  used.  He  said  that  if  he  were  to  go  and 
hear  Dr.  Newton  preach  a  sermon  he  would  turn  to  his  Bible, 
which  he  always  carries  with  him,  and  on  the  margin  mark  down 
some  of  the  heads  of  the  discourse,  with  the  date,  and  five  years 
after  these  heads  would  freshen  his  mind  upon  the  sermon.  He 
said  that  every  one  in  studying  the  Bible  should  make  notes  on 
the  margin  of  any  matter  bearing  upon  particular  passages.  It 
impresses  the  subject  upon  the  mind,  and  in  after  years,  if  the 
necessity  occur  for  a  recurrence  to  it,  an  explanation  can  be  given 
at  once.  The  speaker  gave  some  further  illustrations  showing  how 
lie  had  impressed  sermons  upon  his  mind  at  the  time  of  their  de- 
livery by  making  notes  upon  the  margin  of  the  leaves  of  his  Bible, 
and  how  he  had  studied  up  the  subject. 

In  connection  with  these  valuable  instructions,  as  to  how  to 
study  God's  Word,  the  following  letter  from  Mr.  Moody  to  "  the 
recent  converts  in  Great  Britain"  wall  have  an  interest  to  many 
in  this  country;  not  only  to  "recent  converts,"  but  to  some  who 
have  long  been  counted  as  believers. 

Dear  Christian  Friends  :  Since  returning  to  America,  in 
response  to  my  invitation,  I  have  received  precious  communica- 
tions fromjnany  of  you.  Were  it  possible,  I  would  gladly  reply 
to  each  ;  but,  as  I  have  not  opportunity  for  this,  I  shall  avail 
myself  of  the  columns  of  T/ie  Christia7i  to  send  to  you  all  a  few 
words  of  greeting. 

I  praise  God  continually  for  what  he  has  done  for  you  in  saving 
your  souls  through  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son.  You  are 
much  on  my  heart,  and  in  my  prayers.  But  most  glad  am  I  to 
know,  that  when  I  cease  to  remember,  Jesus  himself  hears 
each  one  of  you  in  continual  remembrance  before  his  Father. 
You  are  graven  upon  the  palms  of  his  hands  (Isa.  xlix.  i6),  and 
•written  upon  the  heart  of  his  affections  (Ex.  xxviii.  29) ;  and  of 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  345 

you  he  has  said,  "  My  sheep  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall 
any  man  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand  "  (John  x.  28). 

You  have  taken  the  Lord  Jesus  for  your  Redeemer,  and  it  has 
become  eternal  salvation  unto  you.  Now,  Jesus  is  something 
more  to  you.  He  has  become  your  High-Priest.  His  great 
business  in  heaven  to-day  is  to  represent  you — your  needs,  your 
infirmities,  and  your  trials.  I  want  you  to  know  this  very  fully; 
for.no  other  truth  can  give  you  more  daily  comfort,  or  more 
firmly  establish  you  in  a  constant  holy  walk.  Having  died  to 
save  you,  Jesus  lives  to  keep  you.  At  the  cross  he  washed  you 
from  the  condemnation  of  sin ;  at  the  mercy-seat  he  will  cleanse 
you  from  daily  defilement. 

Some  of  you  have  written  me  how  old  besetting  sins  are  annoy- 
ing you.  Take  them  straight  to  Jesus  Don't  rely  too  much  on 
yourselves  in  overcoming  them ;  don't  follow  human  advice  too 
much,  or  copy  the  example  of  other  people  too  much  in  gaining 
the  victory.  Spare  yourselves  this  weariness.  Cast  it  all 
before  your  blessed  Advocate,  and  let  him  bear  you  and  your 
burdens  too. 

And  do  not,  above  all,  forsake  your  Bibles.  You  can  never 
separate  Jesus  the  Word  made  flesh  from  the  written  Word.  He 
who  proclaimed  himself  the  Way\  declared  also  that  he  was  the 
Truth.  Pack  your  memory  full  of  passages  of  Scripture,  with 
which  to  meet  Satan  when  he  comes  to  tempt  or  accuse  you  ;  and 
be  not  content  to  simply  know^  but  strive  to  obey  the  Word  of  God. 
Never  think  that  ^esus  has  commanded  a  trifle,  nor  dare  to  trifle 
with  anything  he  has  commanded, 

I  exhort  the  young  men  to  be  sober.  Exercise  yourselves  unto 
godliness;  run  the  race  according  to  Paul's  motto,  "Looking 
off  unto  Jesus  ";  draw  your  inspiration  and  power  directly  from 
liimself. 

I  exhort  the  young  women  to  great  moderation.  Your  sphere 
of  testimony  may  not  be  public;  your  place  of  usefulness  may 
not  be  large  ;  in  your  own  homes  "adorn  the  doctrino  of  God 
yo\ir  Saviour."  Keep  one  little  thought  in  mind — "  I  have  none 
buL  Jesus  to  please."     And  so  make  your  dress  as  simple  as  you 


34^  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

know  will  please  your  Lord  ;  make  your  deportment  as  modest  as 
you  know  will  commend  itself  to  him. 

And  for  you  all,  "  among  whom  we  have  gone  laboring,"  our 
prayer  is,  "  That  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and  more  in 
knowledge  and  in  all  judgment ;  that  ye  may  approve  things 
that  are  excellent ;  that  ye  may  be  sincere,  and  without  offence, 
till  the  day  of  Christ,  being  filled  with  the  fruits  of  righteousness, 
which  are  by  Jesus  Christ,  unto  the  glory  and  praise  of  God  " 
(Phil.  i.  9,  ID,  ii).     Mr.  Sankey  joins  me  in  Christian  love. 

Your  brother  in  Christ,  D.  L.  Moody. 

Brooklyn^  Novefuber  12,  1875. 

Among  the  ropst  effective  presentations  of  truth  made  by  the 
evangelist  are  the  discourses  on  Noah.  Mr.  Moody  preached 
from  Genesis,  chapter  vii.,  verse  i  :  "  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Noah,  Come  thou  and  all  thy  house  into  the  ark."  He  said  it 
was  a  loving  invitation  from  a  personal  God.  This  communica- 
tion  came  to  Noah,  that  God  would  destroy  the  world,  that  his 
Spirit  would  not  always  strive  with  man.  This  was  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  before  the  flood  that  he  told  Noah  to  build  the 
ark.  Grace  always  precedes  judgment.  You  find  that  when 
Christ  came  into  the  world  He  came  in  grace,  and  then  judgment 
followed.  Mr.  Moody's  description  of  the  entry  of  the  animals 
into  the  ark  was  very  touching.  God  shut  the  door  of  the  ark. 
As  in  the  days  of  Noah,  so  shall  it  be  in  the  last  days.  He  told 
an  affecting  incident  of  a  mother  who  told  Mr.  Moody  that  her^ 
daughter  wanted  her  to  go  into  the  inquiry-room.  She  went  into 
the  room  with  her  daughter,  and  they  were  both  blessed.  He 
mentioned  a  young  woman  who  was  converted  at  Edinburgh,  and 
was  killed  by  an  accident  on  a  railroad.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
sermon  some  five  hundred  rose  for  prayers.  This  was  one  of  the 
most  solemn  meetings  ever  held. 

In  his  second  sermon  he  said  :  Some  persons  say  that  they  do 
not  believe  that  there  was  a  flood,  and  others  say  that  they  be- 
lieve in  the  New  Testament,  but  cannot  accept  the  Old  Testa- 
ment    It  won't  do  to  reject  any  portion  ;  for  if  you  do,  you  will 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  347 

have  to  reject  it  entirely.  The  speaker  said  that  he  firmly  be- 
lieved that  there  was  a  flood,  and  there  is  abundant  testimony  to 
prove  it.  He  was  not  present  to  defend  the  Bible,  for  it  defends 
itself.  He  had  a  message  to  deliver,  and  he  would  do  it  to  the 
best  of  his  ability.  He  then  went  on  to  describe  the  ark  built  by 
Noah,  and  said  that  the  old  man  was  ridiculed  and  made  fun  of, 
but  he  had  faith  in  God  and  obeyed  His  commands.  The  speaker 
had  been  hooted  at  after  leaving  the  meeting  in  the  afternoon, 
but  he  did  not  care  for  it,  for  he  knew  that  every  man  who  stands 
up  for  Christ  or  endeavors  to  serve  Him  must  expect  to  be 
jeered  at  and  ridiculed.  The  people  thought  Noah  mad  ;  but 
did  you  ever  notice  that  the  man  who  is  mad  thinks  everybody 
else  mad  ?  There  are  many  who  think  that  the  men  who  serve 
the  Lord  and  preach  his  word  are  mad.  What  about  the  man 
who  deals  out  death  and  damnation,  and  robs  his  fellow-men  of 
their  brains  and  money,  and  robs  their  families  of  support  ?  Is 
that  man  who  brings  about  so  much  wretchedness  insane?  Oh  ! 
no !  no  one  calls  him  insane.  The  man  who  goes  home  and 
beats  his  wife  and  cruelly  treats  his  children  is  not  called  mad. 
But  the  one  who  works  for  Christ  and  cares  for  his  family  is  mad. 
The  speaker  then  went  on  to  describe  the  gathering  together  of 
every  living  thing  in  the  ark,  the  closing  of  the  door  by  God,  and 
the  great  flood  that  followed,  which  lasted  forty  days  and  forty 
nights.  This  portit)n  of  the  discourse  was  the  same  as  that  given 
in  the  afternoon.  He  said  :  Thank  God  the  door  of  mercy  is  now 
open.  He  begged  all  who  would  be  wise,  while  God  is  offering 
mercy,  to  step  within  the  door  ere  it  be  too  late  and  the  door  is 
closed.  The  speaker  said  the  past  year  had  been  the  best  of  his 
life,  and  he  has  prayed  that  the  last  Sunday  of  the  year  would  be 
the  best  that  he  has  yet  experienced  by  the  conversion  of  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  souls.  When  God  shuts  the  door  it  will  be  too 
late — the  day  of  grace  will  have  passed.  The  last  day  and 
the  last  hour  is  coming,  and  don't  you  think  of  it  ?  Oh  !  it 
may  be  that  you  will  never  again  have  the  opportunity  of 
coming  to  Christ.  The  time  is  coming  again  when  God  will 
judge  the  world.      It  will  be  consumed,  as  the  Lord  has  said,  by 


348  MOODY    AND    SANKEV    IN    AMERICA. 

fire.  "  Come  thou  and  all  thy  fiimily  into  the  ark."  You  may 
go  away  from  the  hall  and  laugh  at  and  scorn  Christ.  Oh  !  but 
you  may  be  called  away  without  being  able  to  see  Him.  Come  to 
Him,  now  that  He  is  offered,  or  you  may  never  again  receive  the 
message.  In  1857  there  was  a  great  revival,  and  all  over  the 
country  people  were  flocking  into  the  churches.  There  were  men 
who  then  tried  to  write  it  down,  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  The 
same  effort  is  being  made  to  write  it  down  now,  but  they  are  not 
able  to  do  so,  because  it  is  God's  work.  Oh,  men !  come  into  the 
ark  while  the  invitation  is  yet  being  made.  He  then  related  an 
incident  of  a  young  lady  who  attended  the  meeting  without  any 
concern  for  herself,  but  before  the  service  was  over  she  said  she 
would  be  in  the  ark  before  the  afternoon  was  over.  The  young 
lady  went  to  the  inquiry-room  and  there  sought  Jesus.  He  then 
related  another  incident  of  a  mother  and  daughter  who  attended 
one  of  the  meetings  last  Monday  night.  The  latter  was  a  con- 
vert, but  the  other  was  not.  He  noticed  them,  and  talked  to  the 
mother.  Afterward  he  observed  the  two  in  close  conversation, 
and,  on  going  up  to  her,  she  said  that  she  had  not  been  induced 
to  come  to  Christ  by  anything  he  had  said,  but  through  what  her 
daughter  had  told  her.  He  inquired  how  many  fathers  present 
were  out  of  the  ark.  "Oh!  "  said  he,  "  don't  stand  in  the  way 
of  your  children  ;  come  in  and  bring  your  whole  family,  before 
the  door  is  closed."  He  then  referred  to  a  man  who,  on  being 
converted,  told  how  he  had  treated  his  mother;  that  while  she 
was  praying  for  him,  he  left  home  because  he  could  not  stand  it. 
Finally  he  heard  that  his  mother  was  sick,  and  he  thought  that 
he  would  go  home,  but  he  again  thought  that  if  he  did,  he  would 
have  to  become  a  Christian  to  live  under  the  same  roof,  and  he 
decided  not  to  go.  Subsequently  he  heard  that  she  was  very 
sick,  and  he  started  for  home,  and  on  reaching  there  he  found 
that  his  mother  was  dead.  He  then  visited  her  grave,  and  he 
cried  to  God  for  help.  He  was  thus  left  without  father  and  mo- 
ther, and  he  then  cried  to  God  for  help  and  found  Christ.  The 
man  told  his  hearers  in  Chicago  that  he  would  give  all  in  the 
world   to  have   his   mother  and   f^ithcr  back,  and   he   besought 


THE   WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  349 

those  who  had  mothers  not  to  treat  them  unkindly.  Said  Mr. 
Moody,  "Won't  you  now  come  in  the  ark  and  be  saved,  for  the 
door  may  be  closed  when  it  is  too  late  for  you  ?  "  An  invitation 
was  then  extencfed  to  all  who  desired  prayers  to  stand  up.  A 
large  number  of  men  responded  to  the  request. 

Ex-Mayor  Story  of  Boston  tlien  most  fervently  prayed  in  be- 
half of  those  who  had  risen. 

So  clear  and  unmistakable  is  the  plan  of  salvation  presented  that 
the  most  illiterate  can  readily  understand  it.  There  is  no  chance 
for  the  slightest  excuse ;  no  one  can  plead  ignorance  after  hear- 
ing the  warning  words  of  the  evangelists,  or  say  that  the  oppor- 
tunity was  not  offered  them  of  coming  to  the  Saviour.  Some  of 
the  most  remarkable  instances  of  conversion  have  taken  place, 
and  many  who  attended  the  meetings  with  no  thought  of  becom- 
ing Christians  have,  under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Moody  and  the 
singing  of  Mr.  Sankey,  been  induced  to  enter  the  inquiry-rooms 
and  make  an  unconditional  surrender  of  their  hearts  to  the  Mas- 
ter. Every  day  the  number  of  converts  is  being  largely  in- 
creased, which  shows  conclusively  that  the  power  of  the  revivalists 
is  not  of  themselves,  but  of  Him  who  has  called  tliem  to  do  his 
work. 

Old    1875    Shrouded   with    Prayer. — The    Great  Watch 

Meetings. 

No  outside  attractions  of  holiday  week  drew  away  from  the 
meetings  at  the  Depot  Church.  Indeed,  at  no  time  before  was 
the  attendance  uniformly  so  large,  day  by  day,  and  the  seriousness 
of  the  hearers  so  general.  The  interest  of  the  week  culminated 
in  the  watch-meetings  of  Friday  night.  The  building  was  packed 
to  overflowing,  and  crowds  outside  vainly  sought  admission. 
There  were  three  meetings  during  the  evening,  one  beginning  at 
nine,  one  at  ten,  and  one  at  eleven  o'clock.  Mr.  Moody  preached 
earnestly  at  each  service. 

"  Should  any  people  f.iint,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "  I  hope  the  usl^ers 
will  carry  them  right  out,  and  don't  let  me  see  three  or  four  thou- 


35©  MOODY   AND   SANKEY   IN   AMERICA. 

sand  people  straining  their  necks  just  because  some  one  has 
swooned  away."  After  a  general  chorus  of  tiie  hymn,  "  Rejoice 
and  be  glad,"  Mr.  Moody  read  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  the  First 
Corinthians.  "Grant,  O  God,"  prayed  Mr.  M^ody,  ** that  it 
there  be  any  here  who  have  made  resolutions  to  do  better  during 
the  coming  year  than  they  did  in  the  blessed  year  that  is  clos- 
ing, that  their  resolves  may  be  taken  away  from  them,  and  cause 
them  instead  to  put  their  trust  in  Thee."  "For  the  last  time 
in  this  old  year,"  said  Mr.  Sankey,  "  I  will  sing  you  the  Ninety 
and  Nine.  Let  us  ask  a  blessing  upon  its  singing."  The  popu- 
lar hymn  was  well  rendered,  and  the  evangelist  smiled  a  heavenly 
smile  of  satisfaction.  "A  man  cannot  serve  two  masters,"  said 
Mr.  Moody.  "  I  couldn't  belong  to  the  Democrats  and  to  the 
Republicans  at  the  same  time.  You  remember  the  border  men 
in  the  late  war  when  our  army  got  among  them.  Oh  !  they  were 
all  Union  men,  red-hot ;  and  when  the  Confederates  came,  then 
they  were  all  Southerners,  and  the  result  was  that  both  parties 
hated  and  plundered  them.  None  of  you,  except  infidels,  would 
say  that  you  wouldn't  want  to  become  Christians  some  time. 
Why  not  decide  to-night,  in  the  closing  moments  of  the  old  year  ? 
All  the  good  men  named  in  the  Bible  were  men  of  decision,  and 
the  others,  Pilate,  Agrippa,  and  the  rest,  wavering — '  almost  per- 
suaded.' When  Egypt  was  so  troubled  with  frogs  that  the  king 
couldn't  stand  it  any  longer — it  was  frogs,  frogs,  nothing  but  frogs 
everywhere  ;  he  couldn't  move  his  foot  without  treading  on  a 
frog — he  called  Moses,  and  sa3^s  he:  *  Moses,  I  want  you  to  get 
rid  of  these  frogs  for  me.'  Moses  says :  *  When  .'' '  *  Why — a — 
\ — to-morrow,'  says  the  king.  He  had  no  decision,  and  wanted 
to  keep  the  frogs  for  another  night.  You  must  come  down  with 
the  *  I  will ! '  If  there's  no  God  to  punish  sin — if  there's  no  here- 
after, let's  turn  our  churches  into  theatres;  if  the  Bible  is  a  tissue 
of  lies,  let's  build  monuments  to  Voltaire  and  Payne  ;  if  there's  no 
hell,  'let's  cat,  drink  and  be  merry,  for  to-morrow  we  die.'  I 
believe  that  the  hand  of  God  is  upon  this  nation,  and  that  diings 
are  goii;g  to  be  worse  if  there's  not  more  repentance.  I  know 
what  keeps  men  from  deciding;  it's  some  darling  sin.     *I  like  to 


THE   WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  35 1 

play  cards  and  I  can't  give  it  up  ;'  *  I  love  my  rum-bottle — oh,  my 
darling  rum-bottle,  how  can  I  part  with  you  ! '  Sinner,  this  may 
be  your  last  chance  to  decide.  Oh,  for  Christ's  sake — for  your 
own  sake — trust,  believe  I  throw  yourself  into  the  armg  of  the 
Saviour,  who  alone  can  bless  you  with  a  Happy  New  Year." 

Ten  o'clock  was  announced,  the  first  service  closed,  and  sev- 
eral  thousand  departed,  their  seats  being  taken  by  new-comers. 
At  eleven  o'clock  occurred  a  repetition  of  this  egress  and  ingress, 
and  the  last  portion  of  the  watch  began. 

A  little  after  ten  o'clock,  Mr.  Moody  called  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Plumer,  an  aged  minister,  to  what  he  called  the  "  witness-stand," 
and  interrogated  him  as  to  his  Christian  experience.  It  was  a 
novel  way  of  doing  things.  Mr.,  Moody  asked  questions  as  if 
doubting  the  Word  which  he  so  often  preaches,  and  the  vener- 
able doctor  answered.  The  following  is  Mr.  Moody's  own 
account  of  this  original  episode  : 

In  response  to  a  request  for  an  account  of  the  watch-night 
inquiry-meeting,  when  the  Rev.  Dr.  Plumer  was  questioned  by 
me  as  to  the  great  truths  of  salvation,  I  give  the  questions  and 
answers,  as  I  recall  them,  aided  by  notes  taken  by  others  at  the 
time : 

Dr.  Plumer. — I  wish  to  give  a  year-text  to  this  assembly.  It 
is  from  the  73d  Psalm  :  *'  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  .?  And 
tliere  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  besides  thee." 

Mr.  Moody. — Dr.  Plumer,  we  speak  of  the  duty  of  "convic- 
tion."    What  is  conviction? 

Dr.  Plumer. — Conviction  is  a  clear  persuasion  that  a  thin^ 
is  true.  Religious  conviction  is  a  clear,  settled  persuasion  of 
five  things.  First.  That  I  am  ignorant,  and  need  instruction. 
Second.  That  I  am  guilty,  and  deserve  wrath  and  not  pardon. 
Third.  That  my  heart  is  vile,  and  must  be  renewed.  Fourth, 
That  my  condition  is  miserable;  I  am  "wretched,  and  miser- 
able, and  poor."  Fifth.  That  I  am  helpless ;  I  am  without 
strength;  I  cannot  save  myself;  I  cannot  think  a  good  thought 
without  divine  grace. 

Mr.  Moody. — What  is  the  use  of  conviction  ? 


352  MOODY    AND   SANKEV    IN    AMERICA. 

Dr.  Plumer. — Tne  use  of  conviction  is  not  to  punish  a  man 
for  his  sins;  nor  is  it  to  make  him  any  better.  The  devils  in  hell 
have  been  under  an  awful  conviction  for  a  long  time,  and  not  one 
of  them  is  any  better.  The  sole  object  of  conviction  is  to  light 
up  the  soul  to  the  faith  of  Jesus.  The  sole  object  of  conviction 
is  to  bring  the  sinner  to  accept  salvation  by  atoning  blood. 

Mr.  Moody. — Is  any  given  amount  of  distress  necessary  to 
genuine  conversion? 

Dr.  PluiMER. — Lydia  had  no  distress — we  read  of  none.  God 
opened  her  heart,  and  she  attended  to  the  things  spoken  by  Paul ; 
but  the  jailer  of  Philippi  would  not  have  accepted  Christ  without 
some  alarm.  If  you  will  accept  the  Son  of  God,  you  need  have 
no  trouble ;  there  is  nothing  in  trouble  that  sanctifies  the  soul. 

Mr.  Moody. — Well,  Doctor,  what  is  conversion  ? 

Dr.  Plumer. — Glory  be  to  God,  there  is  such  a  thing  as  con- 
version !  If  there  was  not,  everlasting  chains  and  darkness 
would  be  our  doom.  To  be  converted  is  to  turn  from  self,  self- 
will,  self-righteousness,  all  self-confidence,  and  from  sin  itself,  and 
to  be  turned  to  Christ.  The  turning-point  in  a  man's  conversion 
is  his  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ ;  that  he  closes  in  with  Christ 
and  gives  him  all  his  confidence. 

Mr.  Moody. — Why  must  a  sinner  come  to  Christ  for  salvation  ? 

Dr.  Plumer. — Because  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  Saviour.  All 
the  angels  in  heaven  and  all  the  saints  in  heaven  and  earth  cannot 
save  one  sinner.  He  must  come  to  the  Saviour.  I  will  tell  you 
why.  Here  are  quintillions  of  tons  of  atmospheric  air,  why  does 
not  that  support  life  without  your  respiring?  You  must  breathe 
it,  or  you  die.  For  the  same  reason  you  must  make  Christ  yours, 
or  you  peri.ih,  notwithstanding  what  he  has  done.  The  sight  of  a 
river  will  never  quench  thirst,  and  the  sight  of  food  will  never 
satisfy  hunger.  You  must  come  to  Christ  and  make  his  salva- 
tion yours. 

Mr.  Moody. — Can  a  man  be  saved  here  to-night  before  la 
o'clock — saved  all  at  once  ? 

Dr.  Plumer. — Why  not?  In  my  Bible  I  read  of  three  thou- 
sand men  gathered  together  one  morning — all  of  them  murdeiera 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  353 

— their  hands  stained  with  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God.  They 
met  in  Ihe  morning,  and  before  night  they  were  all  baptized  mem- 
bers of  Christ.  God  added  to  the  church  in  those  days  such  as 
should  be  saved.  If  you  are  ever  saved  there  must  be  a  moment 
when  you  accept  Christ  and  renounce  the  world. 

Mx.  Moody. — What  is  repentance? 

Dr.  Plumer. — It  is  turning  to  God  with  abhorrence  of  sin, 
and  cleaving  to  Christ  with  promise  of  obedience.  A  man  truly 
repents  of  his  sins,  who  does  not  commit  the  sins  he  has  repented 
of;  therefore  saving  repentance  always  terminates  in  purity  of 
life  and  reformation.  A  thorough  change  of  heart  is  followed  by 
a  thorough  change  of  character. 

Mr.  Moody. — How  can  I  know  that  I  am  saved? 

Dr.  Plumer.— The  fact  that  God  is  true.  "Let  God  be  true, 
but  every  man  a  liar."  If  I  accept  Jesus  Christ  it  is  not  Mr. 
Moody's  word,  nor  Mr.  Sankey's,  nor  Dr.  Newton's;  it  is  the 
Word  of  the  living  God  whose  name  is  Amen.  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life." 

Mr.  Moody. — What  if  I  haven't  got  faith  enough  ? 

Dr.  Plumer. — Glory  be  to  God,  if  I  can  touch  the  hem  of  my 
Saviour's  garment  I  shall  be  saved.  A  little  faith  is  as  truly  faith 
as  a  great  deal  of  faith.  A  little  coal  of  fire  in  the  ashes  is  as 
truly  fire  as  the  glowing  heat  of  a  furnace.  Jesus  says  not,  if 
you  have  great  faith  you  will  be  saved,  but  "  he  that  believeth 
shall  be  saved."  Oh,  come  and  trust  him  fully.  Give  him  all 
your  confidence,  and  if  your  faith  is  not  as  strong  as  it  ought  to 
be,  cry,  as  did  the  disciples,  "  Lord,  increase  our  faith." 

Mr.  Moody. — But  I  don't  know  that  I  have  the  right  kind  of 
faith. 

Dr.  Plumer. — Are  you  able  to  analyze  your  faith  and  say 
whether  it  is  exactly  of  the  right  kind  ?  The  thief  upon  the  cross 
did  not  say,  if  I  had  a  little  more  faith  I  would  ask  you  to  remem- 
ber me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom.  He  offered  his 
pra}er  with  the  faith  he  had  and  Christ  accepted  him.  You 
must  have  faith  in  God  through  grace,  and  then  your  faith  must 
have  works,  to  be  of  the  right  kind. 


354  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

]Mr.  Moody. — I  don't  feel  that  I  love  Christ  enough. 
Dr.  Plumer. — And  you  never  will.     To  all  eternity  you  never 
will  love  him  as  much  as  he  deserves  to  be  loved. 

"  Had  I  ten  thousand  thousand  tongues, 
Not  one  should  silent  be  ; 
Had  I  ten  thousand  thousand  hearts, 
I'd  give  them  all  to  thee." 

Mr.  Moodv. — When  the  temptation  comes,  it  is  so  much 
stronger  than  my  resolution  that  I  yield.     What  shall  I  do } 

Dr.  Plumer. — Look  to  Jesus.  He  was  in  all  points  tempted 
like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin.  Christ  can  give  us  the  strength 
of  giants.  Jesus  is  the  best  Master  and  the  best  Friend  in  the 
universe.     Glory  be  to  his  name  forever. 

The  questions  and  answers  are  worthy  of  preservation.  It 
would  be  indeed  well  if  the  scene,  on  the  occasion  of  this  con- 
ference between  the  two  men  of  God,  could  be  faithfully  pic- 
tured to  our  readers. 

It  was  near  midnight.  The  close  of  the  year,  was  at  hand. 
The  Depot  Church  was  crowded.  Twelve  thousand  persons  sat 
listening  intently  to  the  words  of  the  earnest  evangelist.  Mr. 
Moody  had  concluded  a  sermon  from  the  text,  "  How  long  halt 
ye  between  two  opinions?  if  the  Lord  be  God,  follow  him;  but 
if  Baal,  then  follow  him."  The  appeal  had  come  home  with 
power  to  many  who  now  longed  for  words  of  personal  counsel, 
or  who  were  burdened  with  anxious  doubt.  An  ordinary  inquiry- 
meeting,  such  as  usually  follows  Mr.  Moody's  sermons,  was  not 
practicable  then  and  there ;  for  the  services  in  the  main  room 
were  to  continue  until  the  new  year  opened.  Said  Mr.  Moody: 
"  You  always  show  an  interest  in  the  inquiry-meetings.  I  often 
see  some  of  you  who  are  outside  looking  in  at  the  doors  to  see 
what  is  going  on  in  there.  Some  of  you  have  been  in  there. 
Some  ot  you  would  like  to  go  there  to-night;  but  we've  no 
chance  for  such  a  meeting  now.  So  I  propose  to  turn  this 
whole  meeting  into  an  inquiry  meeting.  Here  is  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Plumer,  cf  South  Carolina.     He  is  seventy-four  years  old.     He 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  355 

has  been  living  on  borrowed  time  for  four  years.  For  fifty-five 
years  he  has  been  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  I'm  going  to  put 
him  on  to  the  witness  stand,  and  question  him  before  you  all. 
Dr.  Plumer,  will  you  take  the  pulpit  ? " 

The  venerable  clergyman,  with  his  commanding  form  and  pa- 
triarchal presence,  arose,  and  with  tremulous  movements  took 
the  stand  before  the  vast  congregation.  He  gave  his  Bible 
greeting  from  the  seventy-third  Psalm  to  the  waiting  hearers. 
Every  word  was  spoken  with  distinctness  and  with  deep  feeling 
as  if  under  a  sense  of  weighty  responsibility  in  thus  witnessing 
for  the  Lord.  It  was  a  most  impressive  service.  Many  a  soul 
present  seemed  to  feel  himself  the  questioner,  and  to  listen  as 
for  his  life  to  the  answer.  In  that  solemn  hour  it  was  as  if  God's 
prophecy  for  the  latter  days  was  fulfilled :  "  And  I  will  give 
power  unto  my  two  witnesses."  Their  speech  and  their  ^'preach- 
ing was  not  with  enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demon- 
stration of  the  Spirit  and  of  power." 

The  Midnight  Watch. 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  doors  were  again  thrown  open  while  the 
big  audience  sang  "  Oh  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing."  This 
was  the  commencement  of  the  watch-meeting  proper — watching  for 
the  first  stroke  of  the  hour  which  marked  the  end  of  the  old  and 
the  beginning  of  the  new  year.  Though  but  a  few  more  persons 
got  in  through  the  briefly  opened  doors,  it  was  because  those 
who  had  come  to  stay  the  meeting  out  held  on  to  their  seats, 
unwilling  to  give  up  an  opportunity  of  once  a  year's  happening. 
Another  solemn  hymn  "  A  charge  to  keep  I  have,"  and  one  of  a 
joyful  character  "  The  Lord  of  earth  and  sky,"  were  sung,  Mr. 
Sankey  standing  by  the  organ  while  Prof  Fisher  played,  beating 
time  by  gently  clapping  his  hands,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  March, 
formerly  of  the  Clinton  Presbyterian,  prayed.  He  entreated  God 
that  all  the  meditations  of  the  night  should  draw  the  congrega- 
tion to  a  contemplation  of  their  great  blessing  in  Christ.  The 
twenty-eighth  hymn,  *  One  more  day's  work  for  Jesus,"  was  sung, 


356  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

the  solo  by  Mr.  Sankey  and  the  chorus  by  the  choir,  Mr.  Sankey 
substituting  the  word  "year"  for  "day"  and  asked  the  choris' 
ters  to  do  the  same.  The  change  fitted  the  hymn  very  well 
Mr.  Moody  then  began  his  third  sermon  of  the  evening  by  the 
sudden  utterance  of  the  words  "  There  are  thirty-five  minutes  left 
for  you  to  take  Jesus."  He  resumed  the  theme  "  decision,"  which 
he"  had  treated  two  hours  before,  taking  for  his  text  the  words 
in  Matthew,  "What  shall  I  then  do  with  Jesus  who  is  called 
Christ?"  If  Pilate,  said  the  preacher,  had  decided  to  follow 
Christ  he  would  have  been  walking  with  Peter,  John  and  the 
disciples  in  heaven ;  he  would  now  be  in  the  fold  of  Christ ;  but 
he  liked  popularity,  and  he  listened  to  the  call  of  ambition,  and 
he  gave  Jesus  up  to  be  crucified.  Every  one  in  the  depot  had 
to  go  out  to-night  with  or  without  Jesus ;  there  was  no  more 
serious  question  to  be  settled  in  the  last  few  minutes  of  the  year. 
The  Jews  had  said,  Crucify  Him !  crucify  Him !  when  the  words 
of  the  text  were  asked  of  them.  Would  those  present  do  the 
same.  Let  Christians  in  "these  last  minutes  of  1875"  lift  up 
voices  in  prayer  for  the  salvation  of  sinners.  Mr.  Moody  pic- 
tured Pilate's  supposed  remorse  on  the  morning  after  he  had 
refused  to  save  Christ  from  the  cross.  He  followed  the  foot- 
steps of  Judas — this  man  Pilate,  who  would  be  popular  with 
Caesar — and  put  an  end  to  his  life.  The  man  of  pleasure  and 
the  woman  of  the  world  were  then  exhorted  to  come  to  Jesus. 
"  How  about  you  blasphemers  who  have  come  in  here  to-night } 
What  are  you  going  to  do  ?  Many  are  here  to-night  who  have 
made  resolutions  to  commence  the  new  year  with,  but  they  can  do 
nothing  without  Jesus."  At  15  minutes  to  12  Mr.  Moody  asked 
that  all  join  in  a  silent  prayer.  Heads  were  bowed  all  over  the 
building,  and  silence  reigned,  Mr.  Sankey  breaking  it  by  playing 
the  soft  strains  of  "  Almost  persuaded,"  which  he  sang,  or  rather 
recited,  in  a  broken  voice.  Mr.  Mgody  asked  those  Christians 
to  arise  who  wished  other  Christians  to  pray  for  them.  Almost 
the  entire  audience  rose  to  their  feet.  Then  the  unconverted 
were  invited  to  stand  up  and  ask  Christians  for  their  prayer. 
Rev.  Mr.  Johns  led  in  prayer,  remembering  both  classes — tho 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA. 


3^)7 


converted  in  need  of  help  and  the  unconverted  in  need  of  a 
Saviour.  Dr.  Newton,  after  this,  recited  the  Lord's  prayer,  and 
all  the  congregation  followed.  The  doxology,  "  Praise  God,  from 
whom  all  blessings  flow,"  was  sung,  and  Mr.  Moody  said  that 
there  were  about  four  minutes  of  the  old  year  left,  which  he 
wanted  spent  in  silent  prayer.  It  was  an  awful  solemn  four 
minutes.  It  was  so  silent  inside  that  the  sudden  clang  of  the 
bells  and  shriek  of  the  whistles  on  the  stroke  of  twelve  on  all 
sides  of  the  building  broke  with  starding  distinctness  on  the 
ear.  A  few  words  of  prayer  were  uttered  in  the  meanwhile  by 
Messrs.  Moody,  Sankey  and  George  H.  Stuart,  the  multitude 
still  bowing  their  heads.  The  benediction  was  impressively  pro- 
nounced by  Rev.  Dr.  Plumer,  and  Mr.  Moody,  wishing  all  a 
"  Happy  New  Year,"  closed  the  meeting. 

Dr.  Plumer  said,  "  I  wish  you  all  a  Happy  Eternity,"  and  with 
this  solemn  greeting  the  vast  multitude  passed  out. 

The  Mid-Day  Service. 

At  the  noon  service,  which  was  specially  for  the  reclamation 
of  inebriates,  more  than  a  hundred  requests  for  prayer  were  read 
for  unfortunates  of  all  ages  and  sexes  of  that  class.  Mr.  Moody's 
text  was,  "All  power  is  given  to  Me  in  heaven  and  on  earth." 
He  told  of  a  man  who,  in  his  drunken  moments,  came  into  one 
of  these  meetings,  declaring  :  "  John  Wannamaker's  catchpenny 
won't  have  any  effect  on  me."  But  the  question,  "Where  art 
thou?"  so  affected  that  drunkard  that  he  was  led  to  the  Saviour. 
Dr.  Plumer,  president  of  Columbia  College,  exhorted  the  peo- 
ple, saying:  "Oh,  believe!  Be  saved  !  Come,  ye  opium-eaters 
and  smokers,  ye  drunkards  and  ye  chloral  drinkers,  come  all  and 
be  saved !  " 

The  hymn  "  Sowing  the  Seed  "  was  announced.  Mr.  Sankey 
said,  Before  we  sing  this  song  I  will  tell  you  one  reason  why  we 
should  sing  these  hymns,  and  that  is,  God  is  blessing  them  to 
many  a  poor  wanderer  who  comes  to  this  building  night  after 
night.     Last  week  a  man  who  had  once  occupied  a  high  position 


358  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

in  life  came  into  this  hall  and  sat  down.    While  I  was  singing  this 
hymn  he  took  out  his  pass-book  and  wrote  down  these  words : 

"  Sowing  the  seed  of  a  lingering  pain, 
Sowing  the  seed  of  a  maddened  brain, 
Sowing  the  seed  of  a  tarnished  name, 
Sowing  the  seed  of  eternal  shame, 
Oh,  what  shall  the  harvest  be?" 

Last  night  that  man  in  the  inquiry-room  went  on  his  knees  and 
asked  God  to  break  the  chain  that  had  dragged  him  down  from 
such  a  high  position  to  the  lowest  of  the  low.  He  said  he  had 
resolved  when  he  went  out  of  that  praise-meeting  that  he  would 
cease  to  indulge  in  the  intoxicating  cup,  but  before  he  reached 
home  he  went  into  a  saloon  and  broke  his  resolution.  We  prayed 
for  him  last  night.  He  is  now  praying  that  God  may  break  his 
chain.  I  want  you  to  pray  that  this  brand  may  be  plucked  from 
the  burning,  and  that  God  may  use  these  Gospel  hymns  to  turn 
the  hearts  of  sinful  men. 

Rev.  Dr.  Cuyler,  of  Brooklyn,  said  the  question  was  asked : 
"  Are  there  any  permanent  results  following  the  labors  of  these 
two  brothers.  Moody  and  Sankey,  in  the  only  two  cities  they  have 
visited  in  this  country?"  We  had  no  substantial  results  in 
Brooklyn  until  the  froth  of  novelty  had  blown  away.  In  Phila- 
delphia the  froth  of  novelty  has  now  blown  away,  and  you  have 
got  to  the  blessed  work.  Every  church  in  Brooklyn  that  followed 
up  the  labors  of  Moody  and  Sankey  with  personal  effort  is  to-day 
in  the  midst  of  a  greater  or  more  limited  revival  of  religion,  and 
every  case  that  has  been  followed  up  by  an  effort  has  been  suc- 
ceeded by  a  permanent  conversion.  Our  chief  difficulty  was  from 
the  self-indulgence  of  church-members  who  were  greedy  to  get 
enjoyment  for  themselves  and  not  pass  it  to  a  dying  soul.  Sab- 
bath-school teachers  were  quickened  in  their  work,  but  the  great- 
est results  of  the  work  have  been  in  regard  to  young  men.  Two 
union  prayer-meetings  have  grown  out  of  the  work — one  in  Brook- 
lyn and  the  other  in  New  York.  God  has  blessed  the  labors  of 
these  brothers  in  reaching  that  class  of  men  who  are  addicted  to 
strong  drink.     The  most  significant  example  I  have  yet  met  with 


THE   WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  359 

in  Brooklyn  is  that  of  a  man  given  up  by  everybody.  That  man 
was  picked  up  in  the  mud  before  my  church-door  many  a  time, 
and  he  has  stood  before  that  church  and  damned  it.  He  is  now 
sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  humble  and  in  his  right  mind.  If  God 
will  save  him,  He  will  save  any  man  in  this  city. 

Mr  Moody  said  he  had  received  a  note  Sunday  night,  asking 
him  if  a  person  could  come  to  the  Saviour  if  he  wanted  to,  or,  in 
other  words,  has  one  power  in  himself  to  come.?  To  answer  this 
he  read  from  Matthew  xi.  27,  and  from  other  portions  of  Scrip- 
ture. If  a  man  wants  to  come,  no  power  on  earth  or  hell  could 
hinder  him ;  but  God  will  not  receive  any  one  who  is  not  willing 
to  give  up  his  sins. 

The  only  sorrowful  meeting  of  the  week  is  the  prayer-meeting 
for  drunkards  on  Friday.  The  glimpse  that  is  given  in  these 
meetings  into  many  of  the  homes  of  the  great  city  is  an  appalling 
one.  Wives,  sisters,  daughters,  send  up  a  bitter  cry  for  interces- 
sions in  behalf  of  those  who  are  walking  in  the  sure  way  to  death, 
and  wrecking  the  happiness  of  others  in  the  work  of  their  own 
destruction.  And  darker  still  was  the  revelation  when  the  re- 
quests for  prayer  mentioned  wives,  mothers,  and  daughters  has- 
tening to  a  shameless  end  through  strong  drink.  One  note  was 
in  behalf  of  a  wife  in  a  home  of  wealth,  of  social  position,  the 
slave  to  strong  drink,  "  whose  husband  would  gladly  give  all  his 
wealth  for  the  restoration  of  his  partner  and  their  home."  An- 
other for  an  only  daughter  given  to  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
The  prayers  in  behalf  of  these  cases  are  most  urgent  and  beseech- 
ing, and  it  is  a  relief  to  these  dark  unveilings  to  know  that  some 
of  the  poor  slaves  of  drink  have  been  rescued  from  their  bondage, 
and  brought  in  humility  and  penitence  to  the  feet  of  Christ. 

In  the  meetings  led  by  Moody  and  Sankey  in  Philadelphia  up 
to  this  week  there  have  been  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  different 
services,  with  an  aggregate  attendance  of  perhaps  nine  hundred 
thousand  persons.  Three  hundred  thousand  different  people  in 
all  have  been  in  attendance.  To  the  last,  interest  and  numbers 
have  increased.  Sunday-school  day  was  one  of  tremendous  power, 
and  its  influence  will  long  be  felt  among  the  laborers  who  were 
so  fortunate  as  to  be  present.     The  brightest  anticipations  are  real- 


360  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

ized  in  the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the  quickening  of  Christians. 
The  closing  meetings  were  packed  with  the  best  people  of  the  city, 
while  thousands  were  unable  to  gain  admittance.  Faithful  to 
Christ  and  to  the  truth,  Mr.  Moody  wins  the  confidence  of  good 
men,  and  more  than  all,  binds  them  closer  to  the  Lord  and  to  duty. 

Interest  Culminates. 

Such  an  interest  in  any  matter  has  nevei  been  experienced, 
much  less  in  religious  affairs.  It  would  seem  from  the  crowds 
and  the  number  of  anxious  inquirers  that  the  Master's  cause  was 
being  taken  up  with  the  determination  to  carry  it  through  to  a 
final  and  complete  victory,  that  Satan  and  his  followers  are  to  be 
overcome,  and  that  truth  and  righteousness  are  to  triumph  over 
sin  and  iniquity.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  meetings,  one 
thing  is  certain,  that  an  amount  of  good  has  been  accomplished 
during  the  past  eight  weeks  that  is  beyond  all  calculation. 
Blasphemers  have  been  made  to  realize  the  extent  of  their  sins ; 
scofiers  have  been  turned  to  Christ;  drunkards  have  been  re- 
formed through  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  those 
who  denied  the  existence  of  a  God  have  been  compelled  to  cry 
for  mercy  and  forgiveness.  Where  there  has  been  strife  there  is 
now  happiness;  and  where  there  was  once  discord  there  is  now 
peace.  Families  have  been  united,  and  husbands  and  wives, 
once  estranged,  reconciled.  With  all  this  has  come  an  entire 
dependence  upon  God,  and  but  for  the  Scriptural  teaching  of 
the  evangelist,  it  could  not  have  been  brought  about.  With  all 
these  evidences  of  the  power  of  God,  there  would  seem  to  be 
nothing  else  necessary  to  prove  the  necessity  of  accepting  the 
terms  of  the  Saviour.  No  happiness  can  be  obtained  outside  of 
Him,  and  he  acts  rashly  who  refuses  to  heed  the  warning  words 
of  those  who  are  holding  up  the  cross. 

Theirs  is  a  holy  work,  that  has  the  approval  of  all  good  men, 
and,  what  is  better  than  all,  the  blessings  of  the  Father.  Every 
man  or  woman  who  has  been  checked  while  on  the  downward 
path  of  destruction,  and  through  the  tcnching  and  preaching  of 
the  evangelists  has  been  induced  to  look  in  faith  for  strength 


THE    WORK    IN    rillLADELPIIIA. 


Z(>i 


I 


to  a  Higher  Power,  lias  reason  to  thank  God  that  the  meetings 
were  inaugurated.  I'here  have  been  thousands  of  brands  rescued 
from  the  burning,  and  who  are  now  tasting  of  a  happiness  that 
hitherto  they  knew  nothing  of.  Anything  that  brings  comfort  to 
the  sorrowing  heart  and  peace  to  a  family  must  be  of  God,  and 
those  who  are  the  instruments  by  which  it  is  brought  about  can- 
not but  be  His  servants.  For  all  the  good  that  has  been  done 
by  the  evangelists  and  by  all  who  are  aiding  them  there  is  await- 
ing a  reward  in  heaven  far  richer  than  any  gift  that  could  be 
bestowed  by  men. 

So  great  was  the  desire  to  hear  that  the  Depot  was  filled  with 
upwards  of  twelve  thousand  persons,  and  the  doors  closed,  and 
before  twenty  minutes  from  this  time  there  were  seven  thousand 
persons  around  the  several  doors  of  the  building  striving  in  vain 
to  gain  admittance.  There  were  two  thousand  persons  forming 
an  excursion  party  from  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  Chester,  Penn,,  a 
portion  of  whom  were  unable  to  get  within  the  building.  It  was 
with  much  difficulty  that  Mr.  Moody  himself  was  able  to  force 
his  way  through  the  crowd  that  thronged  the  door.  One  of  the 
doors  was  forced  open  and  a  number  of  persons  'ook  possession 
of  some  of  the  seats  reserved  in  front  for  the  unconverted. 

Among  the  distinguished  persons  on  the  platform  were  Hon. 
Judge  Paxson  (Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania),  Mr.  S.  Iwanager 
(Japanese  Commissioner)  and  friend.  Rev.  Wm.  Harmson  (Balti- 
more), Mr.  Potter  (President  National  Bank),  W.  Simes,  Esq., 
Mr.  Noblett  (President  Commercial  Exchange  Bank),  Hon.  Ho- 
ratio Gates  Jones  (State  Senator  of  Pennsylvania),  Alex.  Brown 
(banker).  Rev.  Dr.  Aikman  (Detroit,  Michigan). 

Before  commencing  his  discourse  Mr.  Moody  spoke  of  how 
unfairly  a  part  of  the  audience  had  acted  in  bursting  open  the 
door  and  taking  the  seats  reserved  for  the  unconverted.  Some 
of  those  people  who  had  taken  possession  of  those  seats  had 
been  occupying  them  for  the  past  two  weeks,  and  he  hoped  their 
consciences  would  trouble  them  so  they  would  not  sleep  to-night, 
and  then  they  would  not  break  the  door  open  to-morrow.  It 
might  not  be  right  to  make  these  remarks  in  regard  to  all  who 
i6 


362  MOODY   AND    SAKKEV  IN   AMERICA. 

had  come  in  by  that  door,  but  those  whom  the  coat  fitted  might 
put  it  on  and  button  it  up  tight. 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting  three  thousand  persons  went  into 
the  inquiry-rooms. 

Such  an  anxious  seeking  for  the  truth  has  never  been  wit- 
nessed, and  it  is  a  question  whether  the  same  amount  of  positive 
good  has  been  accomplished  anywhere  in  so  short  a  time.  What, 
Apparently,  is  wanted  by  the  people  is  the  presentation  of  God's 
Word  in  the  same  simple  and  easily-to-be-understood  manner, 
as  has  been  the  case  the  past  few  weeks  by  the  evangelists.  The 
plan  of  salvation  and  the  promises  and  mercies  of  the  Father 
are  often  so  mysteriously  clouded,  that  people  do  not  really 
understand  what  is  required  of  them.  Then  again,  the  truth  is 
not  unfrequently  presented  in  such  an  uninviting  form  as  to  rather 
drive  away  than  attract  sinners.  The  plainer  it  is  stated  the  bet- 
ter, and  the  more  good  is  accomplished.  Messrs.  Moody  and 
Sankey  have  signally  succeeded  in  this  matter,  for  by  their 
preaching,  praying,  and  exhortation,  very  many  who  never 
opened  a  Bible  are  now  studying  the  sacred  volume  and  in  it 
are  finding  comfort  and  happiness.  It  may  be  said  with  a  great 
deal  of  truth  that  all  classes  have  been  benefited  by  the  special 
religious  services — ministers.  Christian  workers,  and  sinners. 
There  never  has  been  such  a  delightful  period  as  the  past  two 
months,  and  all  who  have  been  privileged  to  be  present  at  the 
Depot  during  the  sojourn  of  the  evangelists  in  this  city  will  look 
back  upon  the  period  with  great  pleasure,  for  they  have  witnessed 
wonderful  manifestations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  blessings 
of  the  labors  of  the  good  and  fiiithful  ambassadors  of  Christ. 

Mr.  Moody's  example  of  constant  speaking  reminds  us  of  the 
resolution  formed  by  Fox,  the  greatest  of  English  orators,  who, 
after  one  fiilure  in  the  House  of  Commons,  determined  to  speak 
on  every  question,  and  so  rose  by  degrees  to  be  the  greatest 
debater  the  world  ever  saw.     Mr.  Moody  says  : 

When  I  began  my  Christian  course,  I  tried  to  work  in  the 
churches  in  Chicago,  and  I  was  told  that  I  had  better  not  speak. 
I  went  into  the  dark  lanes  and  got  meetings  together.    I  kept  my 


\ 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  363 

mouth  open,  I  did  not  let  the  church  close  it.  Confess  Christ  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  and  let  the  devil  and  the  world  talk  and 
throw  stones  at  you.  Your  reward  will  come  by  and  by.  Take 
a  bold  stand  for  Christ.  You  will  never  be  good  for  much  for 
God's  service  until  the  world  calls  you  trazy.  If  the  world  has 
nothing  to  say  against  you,  you  are  not  much  of  a  Christian. 

"  My  subject  is  'Instant  Salvation.'  What  is  that.''  One  minute 
Noah  was  outside  of  the  ark,  and  the  next  he  was  in.  The  man, 
Christ  Jesus,  is  the  ark,  and  the  moment  you  step  in  you're  saved. 
A  man  came  to  me  at  a  Manchester  meeting,  and  said  that  it 
was  his  feelings  that  kept  him  from  believing.  Said  I,  was  it 
Noah's  feelings  that  saved  him  in  the  ark,  or  was  it  the  ark  ?  'Ah, 
I  see  it  I'  he  exclaimed;  'I've  got  to  make  a  train.  Good-by,' 
and  he  was  off.  He  afterward  became  one  of  the  best  workers 
in  that  towm.  One  instant  Lot  stood  inside  of  Sodom,  and  in  the 
next  he  was  outside — don't  you  see.?  That's  instant  salvation. 
The  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb  is  placed  on  the  door-posts  in  a 
second,  and  the  Hebrews  are  safe  from  the  destroying  angel." 
Mr.  Moody  made  another  point  in  the  six  cities  of  Joshua  on  the 
banks  of  the  Jordan,  and  once  within  the  walls  of  which  a  mur- 
derer was  safe  from  the  avenging  pursuit  of  the  murdered  man's 
relatives.  In  imitating  the  actions  of  a  man  striking  the  bloody 
blow,  mounting  his  horse,  rushing  at  breakneck  speed  over  the 
hills  and  through  the  valleys,  and  at  last  springing  into  the  city 
of  safety,  from  which  he  turns  a  look  of  defiance  back  at  his  baf- 
fled pursuer,  Mr.  Moody  made  quite  a  lively  place  of  the  pulpit, 
and  as  he  shouted  until  he  became  hoarse,  his  dramatic  display 
was  very  attractive.  "As  soon  as  we  get  into  the  city,  we  may 
stop  running— we're  free.  When  the  black  man  in  our  country 
was  in  slavery,  he  always  kept  looking  toward  the  north  star;  he 
knew  there  was  no  use  in  going  into  Pennsylvania  or  New  York, 
for  he'd  be  brought  back;  but  he  looked  farther— across  the 
Canadian  boundary,  where  he  belield  waving  a  flag  under  which 
no  bondsmen  breathed.  He  is  pursued,  he  flees,  crosses  the  line 
—is  one  instant  a  slave,  and  the  next  he  stands  under  the  Union 
Jack  a  free  man.     The  Queen's  soldier  is  enlisted  by  simply  hav- 


364  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

ing  a  British  shilling  placed  in  the  palm  of  his  hand — made  a 
soldier  in  an  instant.  Do  you  want  to  know  when  you're  a  Chris- 
tian? It's  when  you've  got  the  British  shilling.  Is  there  one 
here  to-night  who  will  cross  the  line  and  be  free?"  [Voice, 
"  Yes."]  "  Thank  God— any  more  ? "  he  inquired.  [Voice,  "Yes."] 
"  Praise  the  Lord  1  Who  else  will  come  to  Christ  ? "  A  lady 
arose  to  her  feet  and  said,  "  I  will."  "  Let  us  pray,"  said  Mr. 
Moody,  "and  let  all  who  want  our  prayers  arise.  Now,  don't 
look  around  to  see  who  else  is  rising."  The  intercession  for 
the  penitents  being  ended,  there  was  a  general  chorus  of  the 
hjinn,  "  Come  to  Jesus,"  and  the  multitude  dispersed. 

At  the  great  Christian  convention  which  assembled  on  the 
19th  and  20th  of  January,  Mr.  Moody  said  he  had  received  a 
great  many  letters  from  ministers  and  others  asking  him  how  to 
get  up  these  meetings,  and  how  to  conduct  them.  If  you  can 
get  two  or  three  ministers  and  congregations  agreed  in  a  town  of 
five  thousand  inhabitants,  let  your  meeting  be  appointed  and 
have  it  advertised ;  and  when  the  meeting  is  organized,  do  not 
change  the  speakers  each  night  to  please  the  different  denomina- 
tions, but  let  one  man  speak  each  night  for  at  least  one  week, 
and  then  the  people  become  acquainted  with  his  way  of  present- 
ing the  Gospel  to  them.  Let  the  meetings  be  short.  Send  the 
people  away  hungry,  and  they  will  come  back  again.  Look  well 
after  the  ventilation,  and  have  good,  lively  singing.  Have  godly 
men  and  women  to  sing  from  the  heart,  and  sing  new  pieces 
once  in  a  while.  The  songs  of  John  Wesley  went  further  than 
his  sermons. 

There  is  no  general  rule  as  to  how  to  pull  the  net  and  gather 
in  the  harvest  of  souls.  There  are  various  ways,  such  as  getting 
them  to  go  into  the  inquiry-room,  or  to  rise  for  prayer.  One  way 
to  find  out  who  want  to  become  Christians  'S  to  get  them  to  do 
something  they  do  not  want  to  do.  At  a  union  meeting  do  not 
speak  on  controverted  subjects  if  they  are  not  cardinal  points; 
but  if  they  arc,  we  must  take  a  firm  stand.  At  these  meetings 
all  denominations  have  given  up  something.  The  Quakers  have 
given  up  something,  and  so  have  the  Methodists.     Dr.   Hatfield 


THE   WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  365 

has  not  shouted  once  since  he  has  been  here.  [Laughter.]  The 
object  of  these  union  meetings  is  to  proclaim  the  Gospel. 

Mr.  Moody  expressed  himself  ready  to  answer  any  questions 
that  might  be  asked,  and  these  several  questions  were  asked  by 
the  audience  : 

Q.  If  a  meeting  is  to  last  one  hour  and  ten  minutes,  how  long 
should  the  sermon  be  ? 

A.  From  thirty  to  forty  minutes.  A  good  many  people,  by  a 
long  sermon,  receive  impressions  and  lose  them  again  before  the 
sermon  is  concluded. 

Q.  What  ought  to  be  the  character  of  the  prayers  ? 

A.  Special  meetings  ought  to  have  special  prayers.  Regular 
church  services  pray  for  everything  in  general.  This  is  right ; 
but  when  we  have  special  services  we  do  not  want  the  prayers 
offered  for  our  rulers,  but  for  the  souls  that  are  present. 

Q.  Where  would  you  have  the  meeting  held  in  a  small  town  ? 

A.  In  one  of  the  churches,  if  there  was  no  sectarian  feeling ; 
but  if  there  is  a  spirit  among  the  churches  to  bring  converts  to 
their  parficular  churches,  then  go  into  some  public  hall. 

Q.  In  villages  where  there  are  several  churches,  and  the  church- 
goers are  cold,  and  you  cannot  make  an  impression  on  their  hearts, 
how  would  you  act  ? 

A.  Go  on  with  the  regular  services,  but  have  a  special  service 
to  wake  them  up.  These  special  services  are  something  out  of 
the  regular  course  and  it  sets  people  to  thinking. 

A  gentleman  in  the  audience  requested  Mr.  Moody  to  repeat 
the  questions  bofore  answering  them,  as  the  congregation  could 
not  hear  them. 

Mr.  Moody  said  he  could  not  hear  some  of  them  himself. 
[Lau-hlcr.] 

The  meeting  for  the  hour  closed  with  singing  "Come  Thou 
Fount  of  every  blessing."  The  doors  were  opened  to  allow  the 
departure  of  some,  and  the  admission  of  others  to  the  eleven 
o'clock  meeting,  the  subject  of  which  was  "  How  to  conduct 
prayer-meetings." 

Rev.  AUison  Henry,  of  Philadelphia,  made  the  opening  prayer. 


366  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Mr.  Moody  gave  his  ideas  of  how  prayer-meetings  ought  to  be 
conducted.  There  should  be  no  formality.  If  the  people  will 
not  come  up  and  take  the  front  seats,  the  minister  should  go  down 
anion 0^  them  and  take  the  stiffness  from  the  meeting.  The  secret 
of  the  minister's  success  is  to  get  others  to  work.  People  who 
take  part  in  your  prayer-meetings  are  the  ones  that  don't  find 
fault ;  but  when  they  don't  work  they  will  find  fault.  In  Chicago 
we  have  nineteen  meetings  a  week,  and  there  is  no  time  to  go  to 
theatres,  if  there  is  any  wish  to  go.  The  prayer-meetings  sJiould 
be  open  if  you  want  to  make  them  interesting. 

Q.  Do  you  think  prayer-meetings  are  better  than  a  Wednesday 
evening  lecture  ? 

A.  I  pity  the  church  where  the  minister  has  no  prayer-meeting; 
I  do  not  advocate  giving  up  prayer-meetings  for  lectures. 

Q.  Should  women  and  children  be  encouraged  to  speak  in  our 
prayer-meetings  ? 

A.  That  is  a  controverted  point.  The  Presbyterians  say 
women  should  be  silent. 

Q.   Is  it  best  to  have  laymen  lead  the  prayer-meeting? 

A.  I  think  when  a  minister  has  been  leading  a  prayer-meeting 
for  fifty  years  it  gets  into  a  groove,  and  it  would  be  an  advantage 
to  have  an  elder  lead  the  meeting ;  then,  in  the  case  of  a  vaca- 
tion, the  prayer-meeting  would  not  be  closed. 

Q.  How  is  a  spirit  of  prayer  to  be  developed  in  a  meeting.? 

A.  It  better  be  commenced  in  the  classes. 

Q.  If  there  are  members  who  cannot  pray  or  speak,  and  yet 
are  good,  conscientious  members  of  the  church,  ought  they  to  be 
encouraged  to  speak  or  pray .? 

A.  That  is  an  important  question.  When  I  was  converted,  I 
got  up  in  a  good  many  prayer-meetings  to  speak  for  Christ.  I 
had  zeal  witiiout  knowledge.  A  minister  took  me  one  side;  he 
colored  up,  and  I  knew  something  was  coming.  He  hesitated 
and  then  he  Inmg  his  head.  I  said,  "  Say  on."  He  said,  "I 
have  no  doubt  but  that  the  Lord  has  converted  you,  but — ah,  ah, 
—ah,  don't  you  think  you  would  serve  the  Lord  by  keeping 
silent .?"     [Laughter.]     The  man  was  honest,  and  if  I  had  been 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  367 

in  his  place  I  miglit  have  given  the  same  advice.  He  should 
have  told  me  there  was  some  work  I  could  do.  I  was  two  years 
in  finding  it  out,  and  then  I  went  into  the  lanes  and  went  to 
among  the  ragged  boys. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  it  would  be  a  failure  in  a  prayer-meeting 
if  there  was  no  effort  made  to  bring  unconverted  men  to  Christ  ? 

A.  There  should  be  an  effort  made,  but  it  is  sometimes  best 
done  by  believers  giving  an  account  of  the  joy  they  experience 
in  believing,  instead  of  exhorting. 


How  TO  Get  Hold  of  the  Non-Church-Goers. 

On  this  subject  Mr.  Moody  spoke  as  follows : 

I  want  to  say  a  few  words  on  this  question  if  you  will  allow 
me.  We  have  had  in  our  city  (Chicago),  for  a  number  of  years, 
what  we  call  a  "Yoke  Fellow's  Band."  They  meet  every  Sunday 
night,  say  at  six  o'clock.  We  furnish  them  with  tea.  This 
doesn't  cost  much,  only  about  fifteen  cents  a  head ;  and  after 
they  have  drank  their  tea,  and  prayed  together,  they  start  out  to 
find  recruits  and  bring  them  to  the  church.  I  have  not  known 
for  years  what  it  is  to  preach  to  empty  seats  ;  long  before  I  had 
any  reputation  to  draw  folks  we  always  used  to  have  our  church 
full.  Many  churches  around  us  that  had  men  with  great  names 
to  draw  a  congregation,  very  often  during  the  Summer  season 
were  only  quarter  full,  or  half  full,  but  for  the  twelve  months  of 
the  year  our  church  would  be  full.  It  was  these  young  fellows 
who  brought  them  there.  These  men  who  bring  in  the  recruits 
off  of  the  street,  found  probably  in  some  dark  saloon,  and  brought 
in,  will  be  anxious  that  you  should  preach  well,  and  if  the  minis- 
ter sees  that  his  helpers  are  anxious  that  he  should  make  an 
impression  upon  his  hearers,  he  will  preach  all  the  better  for  it. 

There  are  hundreds  and  thousands  of  young  men  in  this 
country  who  want  to  work  in  the  church,  but  they  don't  know 
how.  They  want  some  one  to  set  them  to  work.  The  way  we 
do  in  our  meetings  is  this :  We  have  two  men  generally  go  to* 


368  MOODV    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

gethcr ;  we  put  Ihem  on  the  corners  of  the  great  thoroughfare, 
or  we  give  them  so  many  saloons,  and  billiard-halls,  and  hotels 
to  look  -after.  Every  saloon  within  a  mile  of  that  place  of  wor- 
ship is  visited.  Many  a  time  I  have  gone  into  these  saloons  and 
asked  men  to  come  and  hear  me  preach.  I  know  that  isn't  a 
very  proper  thing  for  a  preacher  to  do,  but  it's  a  good  deal  better 
than  preaching  to  empty  seats.  Some  of  our  brethren  said  they 
didn't  like  to  do  it ;  I  said  there  were  a  great  many  things  we 
didn't  like  to  do.  If  we  make  up  our  minds  to  it,  we  can  get 
people  to  the  preaching.  If  we  roll  up  our  sleeves,  they  will 
come.  Then  in  the  summer  season  never  mind  the  church, 
leave  it  to  the  owls  and  bats ;  if  the  people  won't  come  to  the 
church,  go  out  on  the  first  street  corner  you  come  to  and  preach, 
or  go  to  the  court-house  square,  or  the  park ;  anywhere,  to  get  at 
the  people.  And  then  when  you  get  the  people,  have  good  sing- 
ing. And  remember  when  you  sing  that  what  the  people  want  is 
the  words.  The  words,  not  the  music,  reach  the  soul  and  convert 
the  man.  And  then  shake  hands  with  every  one  who  comes. 
Instead  of  staying  in  the  pulpit  to  pronounce  the  benediction,  I 
used  to  go  right  down  to  the  door  while  they  sang  the  last  hymn, 
then  I'd  get  them  as  they  passed  out.  Let  the  benediction  go, 
but  shake  hands  with  them.  And  we  must  have  plainer  churches. 
And  they  must  not  have  mortgages  upon  them.  If  we  are  all  the 
time  staggering  under  a  big  debt,  we  must  be  after  the  money  of 
the  people,  and  that  will  soon  drive  them  off.  When  they  won't 
come  to  the  church,  or,  as  many  can't  come — mothers,  washer- 
women, people  with  nothing  to  wear — why,  go  to  them.  Ask 
permission  to  go  down  to  their  rooms  and  hold  a  cottage  prayer- 
meeting.  Let  them  call  in  their  neighbors.  That  commits  these 
people  to  your  side ;  they  are  then  known  to  favor  religious 
meetings,  and  good  is  done  in  that  way.  Don't  arrange  it  so  as 
to  keep  the  hymn-books  in  the  church  all  the  time.  Let  the 
people  carry  the  books  home,  then  they'll  sing  of  Jesus  while  at 
their  home  work. 

In  answer  to  question.  What  was  the  secret  of  your  success  in 
Chicago }  Mr.  Moody  said :  The  only  way  I  got  along  in  Chicago 


I 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  369 

was  by  going  to  preach  to  the  people  if  they  would  not  come  and 
hear  me. 


A  Farewell  Not  Final. 

At  the  close  of  the  course  of  meetings  in  Philadelphia,  the 
Evangelists  were  greeted  in  the  Old  Depot  by  an  immense  au- 
dience, from  which  thousands  were  excluded  by  lack  of  room, 
who  had  come  to  manifest  their  interest  in  the  mighty  work  and 
its  chief  promoters.  Deep  solemnity  rested  on  the  vast  assem- 
blage, and  many  hearts  were  saddened  by  the  prospect  of  the 
departure  of  the  men  who  had  won  them  to  Christ,  or  stimulated 
and  instructed  them  as  Christian  workers. 

Mr.  Moody,  after  making  the  announcements  for  the  meetings 
to  follow,  said  that  the  expenses  of  the  meetings  had  been  paid, 
but  that  this  evening  he  would,  on  his  own  responsibility,  ask  for 
a  thank-offering  with  which  to  finish  and  pay  for  the  building  now 
in  course  of  construction  for  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ- 
ation. He  said  that  he  desired  it  also  to  be  distinctly  understood 
that  they  [Moody  and  Sankey]  were  receiving  no  money  from  the 
committee,  and  declined  to  have  any  collections  taken  up  in  the 
meetings.  As  to  the  photographs,  they  had  no  interest  in  them, 
and  for  eight  years  he  had  refused  to  have  any  taken.  If  any 
one  had  purchased  a  copy  and  felt  cheated,  he  did  not  pity  him. 
It  is  true  that  there  is  a  royalty  upon  the  hymn-books,  which  is 
paid  over  to  a  committee,  consisting  of  Mr.  George  H.  Stuart  of 
this  city,  William  E.  Dodge  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Farwell  of 
Chicago.  He  did  not  know  how  much  had  been  realized  upon 
the  sale  of  the  books  in  this  city,  but  in  order  to  satisfy  any  one 
that  no  money  has  been  made  out  of  the  meetings,  the  committee 
would  give  one  thousand  dollars  as  a  thank-offering  for  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association's  Hall.  He  trusted  that  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  dollars  wonld  be  subscribed. 

He  read  the  following  letter: 

Dear  Mr.  Moody  : — Through  the  instrumentality  of  the  blessed 
meetings  now  closing,  my  darling  son,  a  prodigal,  and  his  wife  are 


37©  MCX)DY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

now  resting  in  a  Saviour's  love.  The  accompanying  ring,  the 
gift  of  one  dearly  loved,  and  so  long  worn  it  seems  a  part  of 
myself,  I  now  offer  to  my  dear  Lord  and  Master  as  a  thank- 
offering  for  His  unspeakable  blessing.  Do  with  it  as  the  Holy 
Spirit  directs.  Please  join  with  me  in  prayer  that  my  son  may  be 
consecrated  to  God,  and  be  the  means  of  leading  many  to  Christ. 

He  said :  Enclosed  I  found  a  diamond  ring  with  eight  dia- 
monds. One  man  said  he  would  give  $500  for  it.  If  any  will 
give  more  he  can  have  it,  but  if  not  the  ring  will  be  sold  for  $500 
and  the  money  be  given  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Let  us  now  go  to 
work  and  praise  God  by  giving  $280,000  for  this  object. 

The  ushers  then  began  to  take  the  collection  up,  and  almost 
immediately  Mr.  Moody  announced  that  three  persons  had  given 
$70,000,  and  shortly  after  that  another  person  had  given  $10,000 
more,  and  that  the  diamond  ring  had  been  sold  for  $1,000. 

About  $100,000  were  speedily  raised,  a  short  sermon  was 
preached,  and  then  j\Ir.  Moody  spoke  of  his  past  nine  weeks' 
labor  as  most  precious  weeks  to  him  ;  but  one  cloud  crossed  his 
path,  and  that  was  that  he  was  now  to  take  his  leave  of  them. 
He  wanted  to  thank  the  people  for  their  attention,  and  he  wanted 
their  prayers  for  the  success  of  the  work  in  the  metropolis  of  the 
country.  He  thanked  the  ministers  of  Philadelphia  for  their  sup- 
port and  sympathy.  He  also  thanked  the  ushers,  choir  and  re- 
porters, and  invoked  the  blessing  of  heaven  upon  them.  20,000 
copies  of  his  little  book  for  the  unconverted  would  soon  be 
ready,  and  copies  would  be  sent  to  those  who  are  not  Christians 
if  they  sent  their  names. 

Finally,  he  said :  We  love  you,  and  we  want  your  prayers  as 
we  go  to  New  York.  He  then  prayed  most  earnestly  for  all  the 
young  converts,  that  they  may  be  kept  true  to  the  faith. 

After  singing  "  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds,"  the  happy  throng 
dispersed. 

The  Last  Farewell. 

After  a  brief  absence  from  the  city,  the  Evangelists  returned 
Feb.  4th,  to  bid  a  last  farewell  to  the  thousands  who  had  learned 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  37 1 

to  follow  them  as  the  multitudes  once  followed  the  Master.  The 
Depot-Tabernacle  was  packed  to  repletion  with  an  eager  multi- 
tude, many  of  whom  were  better  content  with  a  few  square  inches 
on  which  to  stand,  where  the  words  of  the  Evangelists  could  be 
heard,  than  with  all  the  pleasures  of  the  great  world  beckoning 
from  the  outside.  On  the  stage  were  almost  all  the  clergymen 
who  have  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  movement. 
Mr.  Sankey,  by  request,  sang  the  beautiful  hymn, 

Sowing  the  seed  by  the  dayhght  fair. 

The  stanzas  were  sung  as  a  solo  by  Mr.  Sankey,  the  choir 
joining  in  the  chorus  with  much  spirit  and  expression.  The 
chorus  of  the  last  verse  was  sung  so  softly  as  to  give  the  sweet 
effect  of  a  distant  choir  of  angel  choristers.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  hymn  Mr.  Moody  arose,  and  calling  attention  to  the  fact 
that  at  the  last  meeting  a  collection  was  taken  up  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  building,  said  that  it 
was  necessary  to  raise  about  $280,000,  and  at  the  last  meeting 
only  $120,000  had  been  subscribed.  It  might  be  supposed  that 
this  was  a  good  deal  to  spend  on  a  building,  yet  many  citizens 
had  private  houses  worth  far  more  in  actual  value,  and  only  one 
family  could  reap  the  benefits.  But  this  building  was  to  be  a 
home  for  thousands  of  young  men  who  might  otherwise  be  led 
astray  by  the  brilliant  palaces  of  crime  which  Satan  was  con- 
stantly rearing  for  the  ruin  of  the  young.  If  it  was  desirable  to 
redeem  young  men  it  was  necessary  to  go  where  they  would 
naturally  congregate,  and  this  association,  if  provided  with  con- 
venient and  pleasant  quarters,  would  attract  the  young  of  all 
classes,  and  there  the  workers  for  Christ  could  labor.  Continu- 
ing, he  spoke  of  the  advantages  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  in  other  cities,  showing  that  in  Cleveland  especially 
the  results  were  beyond  calculation.  Every  young  man,  when 
converted,  became  a  Christian  worker,  and  was  it  not  better  to 
have  one,  or  two,  or  three  thousand  young  men  voluntarily  work- 
hig  for  God  than  letting  the  young  wander  in  any  direction,  while 
a  few  hundred  paid  missionaries  were  vainly  striving  to  stem  the 


372  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

tide  of  sin  ?  He  then  told  an  affecting  story  of  a  boy  who  was 
taken  by  his  father  from  his  Scotland  home,  and  lost  in  the  streets 
of  Chicago  while  the  father  was  on  a  drunken  spree.  The  boy 
became  a  street  gamin,  and  grew  up  surrounded  by  the  worst 
influences.  Time  passed  on,  and  at  length,  through  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  the  youth  was  saved.  Then,  as  the 
love  of  the  Saviour  pervaded  his  heart,  the  memories  of  boyhood 
returned,  and  he  was  seized  with  an  irresistible  longing  to  gaze 
once  more  on  the  face  of  the  mother  so  long  lost.  He  wrote 
again  and  again  to  many  different  addresses,  but  the  letters  were 
all  returned.  Almost  despairing,  he  threw  himself  on  his  knees, 
and  in  anguish  called  on  God  to  help  him.  As  he  prayed,  the 
memory  of  a  long-forgotten  village  came  to  his  brain,  and  he 
seemed  to  hear  some  spirit  whisper  that  there  he  could  find  a 
letter  awaiting  him.  He  wrote,  and  received  the  letter  which 
his  mother  had  written  to  him  seven  years  before.  With  this  as 
a  guide  he  found  the  mother,  so  long  lost,  waiting  in  submission 
to  God's  will  for  the  return  of  her  son,  and  when  that  son  not 
only  returned,  but  she  folded  to  her  arms  a  Christian,  her  heart 
overflowed  with  joy,  and  that  one  moment  repaid  for  all  the  long 
years  of  hopeless  longing.  "  Was  not  the  saving  of  this  young 
man,"  asked  Mr.  Moody,  "worth  all  the  money  that  could  be 
spent  on  any  building  ?  Did  not  that  mother's  tears  bestow  a 
double  blessing  on  every  giver  and  every  worker  in  Christ  ?'* 
Mr.  Moody  concluded  by  beseeching  those  present  to  each  do 
their  share  towards  forwarding  the  blessed  work  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  by  aiding  in  the  erection  of  a  long- 
needed  building.  While  the  ushers  w^re  passing  through  the 
congregation  with  the  contribution  baskets  Mr.  Sankey  sweetly 
sang  a  new  solo,  after  which  Mr.  Moody  made  a  fervent  prayer 
for  the  blessing  of  God  on  the  work  already  done,  and  asking  that 
on  the  golden  shore  of  the  Beyond  all  who  had  found  Christ 
might  clasp  hands  without  missing  the  face  of  one  lost  brother. 
The  82d  hymn, 

Only  an  armor-bearer  proudly  I  stand, 
Waiting  to  follow  the  King's  command, 


THE    WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  373 

was  next  sung  by  Mr.  Sankey,  the  choir  joining  heartily  in  the 
chorus.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  second  verse  the  entire  con- 
gregation of  twelve  thousand  persons  rose  to  their  feet  and 
blended  their  voices  with  those  of  the  choir, 

Mr.  Moody  next  arose  and  said:  "I  want  to  call  your  atten- 
tion to  one  little  word  in  the  fourth  verse  of  the  fourteenth  chap- 
ter of  Romans.  That  little  word  is  able.  God  is  able  to  hold 
you,  and  will  hold  you  up  if  you  have  faith  in  His  power,  and  are 
not  self-confident.  There  are  three  enemies  which  every  young 
convert  has — the  flesh,  the  world,  and  the  devil.  Don't  think  you 
have  got  rid  of  them.  Not  only  do  the  young  fall,  but  some  of 
the  most  eminent  men  have  fallen  after  years  of  walking  in  the 
right  path.  Don't  think  you  are  to  be  wafted  into  heaven  without 
any  effort.  You  have  got  to  fight — it  is  a  conflict.  But  how 
sweet  is  the  thought  that  God  is  able  to  make  us  stand.  But  you 
must  let  God  keep  hold  of  you.  It  is  a  great  deal  better  to  have 
God  take  hold  of  you  than  for  you  to  try  to  take  hold  of  God  for 
safety,  while  confident  not  only  that  you  can  stand  alone,  but  can, 
if  necessary,  retain  your  grasp.  Every  Christian's  life  should  be 
like  that  of  the  orange  tree.  In  Florida  I  saw  these  trees  grow- 
ing in  dry  sand,  and  when  I  asked  how  they  lived,  I  was  told 
that  every  tree  had  a  top  root  which  went  right  down  until  it 
struck  water.  We,  too,  must  find  a  fount  so  pure  and  revivifying 
that  no  surroundings  can  injure  our  spiritual  growth.  Now,  I 
want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  second  chapter  of  Hebrews,  the 
eighteenth  verse.  It  is  temptation  that  brings  out  the  character. 
We  don't  want  to  be  like  hot-house  plants.  We  must  learn  to 
overcome  temptations.  Our  Saviour  has  been  tempted,  and  He 
knows  how  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted.  If  you  are  over- 
taken in  a  fault,  young  friends,  don't  be  discouraged  ;  go  right  to 
Christ  in  your  time  of  trouble  and  tell  it  right  out.  You  will  find 
forgiveness  and  loving  aid.  Now  look  at  the  first  chapter  of 
Paul,  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy.  A  great  many  predict  that 
these  young  converts  will  f:ill  away.  Perhaps  some  will.  The 
parable  of  the  sower  is  as  true  to-day  as  it  was  when  Christ  first 
spoke  it.     But  if  some   seeds   have  fallen  on   stony  ground  or 


374  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

among  thorns,  is  it  any  sign  that  God  is  not  able  to  keep  what  has 
been  committed  to  Him?  He  is  able  to  grant  all  our  wants  and 
to  aid  us  under  all  circumstances.  You  may  tremble  when  you 
look  into  your  own  heart,  but  you  can't  tremble  when  you  look 
towards  God.  The  Bank  of  England  is  protected  by  soldiers, 
who  march  around  it  all  night  long;  so  the  moment  your  eyes  are 
closed  in  sleep,  God's  angels  are  guarding  you.  Now,  what  I  par- 
ticularly want  to  say  to  young  converts  is  to  become  united  to 
some  church.  If  you  have  got  your  arm  around  the  cross,  don't 
go  to  sleep  there,  forgetful  of  all  others,  but  while  clinging  with 
one  hand,  reach  with  the  other  down  into  the  water  and  help  to 
save  some  one  else  who  is  struggling  in  the  waves.  One  danger 
which  young  converts  always  meet  is  found  in  spiritual  pride, 
which  the  devil  instils  into  their  hearts.  Another  danger  is  the 
possibility  of  becoming  lukewarm  and  losing  all  pride  in  the  work 
of  God.  Let  'Word  and  Work'  be  our  watchword.  If  you 
neglect  either  the  one  or  the  other  you  won't  be  successful.  But 
he  who  holds  the  word  in  one  hand  and  works  with  the  other 
must  advance  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Throne."  In  closing,  he 
said  :  *'  I  hate  to  say  farewell.  I  hate  to  leave  you.  The  hardest 
part  of  our  work  is  when  we  have  to  say  farewell  to  those  we  have 
prayed  with  and  wept  with.  Let  us  pray  that  God  may  lift  us 
higher  and  higher.  May  God  bless  you ;  may  God  keep  you. 
Keep  close  to  the  Saviour ;  try  to  follow  Him  closer  and  closer 
every  day.  I  don't  like  the  word  farewell.  I'll  bid  you  good- 
night, and  by  the  grace  of  God  I  want  to  meet  you  in  the  morn- 
ing where  night  can  never  come  and  farewells  are  never  needed." 
As  Mr.  Moody  ceased,  Mr.  Sankey  touched  a  few  familiar  notes 
on  the  organ,  and  in  the  next  moment  began  in  a  trembling  voice 
a  farewell  hymn  set  to  the  tune  of  "  Home,  Sweet  Home."  The 
scene  was  an  affecting  one,  and  many  were  the  glistening  eyes 
among  the  thousands  who  seemed  to  have  forgotten  that  the 
evangelists  were  ever  to  depart.  A  few  moments  were  next 
spent  in  silent  prayer,  after  which  the  congregation  and  choir 
sang  in  unison  "The  Sweet  Bye  and  Bye,"  filling  the  vast  audi- 
torium with  floods  of  musical  sound.  The  benediction  was  then 
pronounced,  and  the  audience  gradually  dispersed. 


THE   WORK    IN    PHILADELPHIA.  375 

The  furniture,  partitions,  floorings,  platforms,  etc.,  of  the  Depot 
Building  were  sold  at  auction  the  next  morning,  and  realized 
$3,100.  On  many  of  the  articles  there  was  a  very  lively  competi- 
tion. This  was  especially  the  case  in  regard  to  the  chairs  which 
had  been  occupied  during  some  period  of  the  revival  meetings  by 
prominent  individuals.  President  Grant's  chair  was  knocked 
down  to  Mr.  John  Wanamaker  for  $25  ;  Mr.  Moody's  chair  to  Mr. 
Stuart  for  $55  ;  Mr.  Sankey's  chair  to  Mr.  Field  for  $55  ;  Mr. 
Stuart's  chair  to  Mr.  Field,  for  $26;  Dr.  Newton's  chair  to  Mr. 
Stuart  for  $25  ;  Mr.  John  Wanamaker's  chair  to  Mr.  Field  for 
$47.50;  Mr.  Thomas  Scotl's  chair  to  Mr.  Whitney  for  $20; 
Governor  Ilartranft's  chair  to  Mr.  John  Wanamaker  for  $5; 
Speaker  Blaine's  chair  to  Mr.  Field  for  $5 ;  the  chief  usher's 
chair  to  Mr.  Stuart  for  ^15. 

Mr.  Moody's  platform,  Bible  rest,  crimson  plush  on  the  pulpit, 
with  a  piece  of  ingrain  carpet  and  speaking  tube,  were  sold  to 
Mr.  Baily  for  $125  ;  the  towel  used  by  Mr.  Moody  brought  $5, 
and  Mr.  Sankey's  $5.50;  twenty-four  car  mats  were  sold  to  Mr. 
Davis  for  $69.75  ;  a  Windsor  settee  to  Mr.  Manly  for  $27  ;  the 
dismissing  gong  to  Mr.  Stuart  for  $10 ;  Mr.  Baily  bought  a  lounge 
for  $16;  six  walnut  cane-seat  chairs  for  $15;  a  washstand  for 
$10.50,  and  a  walnut  office  table  for  $18  ;  Mr.  Stuart  bought  two 
walnut  cane-seat  chairs  for  $12;  Mr.  Marshall  bought  a  walnut 
and  green  reps  Spanish  chair  for  $17  ;  a  set  of  stone  china  toilet 
ware  was  sold  to  Mr.  Johnson  for  $10,  and  a  looking-glass  to  Mr. 
Stuart  for  $6.50.  There  were  a  large  number  of  articles  sold, 
and  the  prices  obtained  were  good. 

As  a  fitting  close  of  this  rdsum^  of  the  course  of  meetings  in 
Philadelphia,  we  append  the  remarks  of  Geo.  H.  Stuart  in  New 
York: 

In  October  last  in  our  city  we  attempted  a  great  work  for  God. 
Some  had  high  expectations  that  it  would  redound  largely  to  the 
glory  of  Heaven.  They  saw  a  deep  spirit  of  prayer  among  the 
clergymen  and  members  of  the  churches.  And  what  has  been  the 
result  ?  It  has  far  exceeded  the  highest  hopes  of  the  most  san- 
guine.    We  had  little  thought  to  see  a  hall,  one-half  larger  than 


37<5  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

yours,  filled  to   overflowing   every  Sabbath  with  from  7,000  to 
13,000  people,  who  came  to  hear  "the  old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and 
His  love."     God  had  heard  our  prayer,  and  His  work  has  been 
continued   in    all   our    cliurches.     In   my  own   church  —  an   old 
Scotch  church,  which  has  been  little  disposed  to  unite  in  such 
religious  movements — I  have  seen  what  I  have  never  seen  before 
during  the  forty  years  that   I   have  known  it.     At  the  morning 
meetings  in  the  depot  church  on  Sundays,  the  early  hour  at  which 
people  came  was  remarkable.     The  watchman  has  told  me  he  saw 
men  gathering  there  as  early  as  4:30  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  and 
on  cold  mornings  in  January,  the   throng  was  so  great  at  six 
o'clock  that  he  was  obliged  to  open  the  doors.     My  church  has 
had  but  two  pastors  in  seventy-five  years,  and  on  Sunday  next  it 
will  hold   a  special   communion   service — something  it  has  not 
known  in  years — and  fifty-five  new  communicants  will  be  there. 
Two-thirds  of  them  are  young  men.     I  know  a  merchant  of  your 
city  who  was  led  into  the  meetings  in  Philadelphia,  and  is  now 
reclaimed  from  a  long  career  of  intemperance.     I  now  have  in 
my  pocket  a  letter  from  his  sister,  expressing  gratitude  for  what 
God  has  done  for  her  brother.     My  friends,  there   never  was 
such  a  time  as  the  present  for  work— work,  work,  work,  is  the 
motto.    We  in  Philadelphia  have  followed  these  brethren  here  in 
our  prayers.     But  much  will  remain  for  others  besides  them  to 
do.     O,  may  you  all  learn  to  carry  this  lamp  of  salvation  into  the 
brothels,  and  houses  of  shame,  and  scenes  of  iniquity,  and  all 
dark  corners  in  this  great  and  wicked  city. 


THE    PRINCETON    REVIVAL.  377 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
The  Princeton  Revival. 

Princefon  is  one  of  the  old  towns  of  New  Jersey,  famous  for 
being  the  seat  of  learning  where  the  Presbyterians  of  this  region 
and  the  South  chiefly  educate  their  sons.  A  correspondent,  of 
February  tenth,  said  : 

God's  spirit  is  still  doing  wondrous  things  for  us.  Almost 
every  one  is  awakened.  Our  prayer-meetings  are  filled  to  over- 
flowing, and  are  characterized  by  great  earnestness  and  power. 
Those  who  have  lately  found  Christ  are  very  earnest  in  leading 
their  associates  to  seek  Him.  We  hope  and  pray  that  not  a 
single  one  will  be  left  out  of  the  fold.  The  visit  of  Messrs. 
Moody  and  Sankey  has  been  blessed  to  us  all. 

The  oldest  professors  tell  us  that  this  is  the  most  gracious 
revival  the  college  has  ever  witnessed.  There  have  already  been 
over  eighty  conversions  ;  but  we  hope  for  still  greater  things. 

This  reference  to  the  evangelists  makes  it  needful  to  rehearse 
mere  fully  their  relations  to  this  great  work  in  that  intellectual 
community.  And  we  are  again  reminded  of  what  has  been  well 
touched  by  a  secular  paper : 

It  is  a  little  difficult  to  explain  or  analyze  the  success  of  these 
evangelists.  We  rather  incline  to  the  explanation  which  Mr. 
Moody  himself  ahyays  offers,  that  he  is  only  the  mouthpiece  and 
expression  of  a  deep  and  mysterious  wave  of  religious  feelin^-ij 
now  passing  over  the  nation.  The  disasters  and  disappoint- 
ments of  the  year,  the  reaction  against  the  skepticism  and  the 
selfish  greed  of  the  day,  the  deep  religious  sentiment  lying  at 
the  bottom  of  the  American  character,  and  the  eternal  wants  of 
the  human  heart,  have  prepared  the  minds  of  the  people  for  a 
profound  religious  transformation  or  impulse. 

The  day  after  the  final  farewell  at  Philadelphia,  the  brethren 


378  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

were  taken  to  Princeton,  and  held  a  few  meetings  there.  In  the 
narrative  that  follows,  we  see  how  the  way  had  been  prepared : 

The  revival  influence  at  work  among  the  students  is  one  of 
notable  power.  The  movement  is  of  recent  origin.  While 
Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  were  in  Philadelphia  the  students 
indicated  to  President  McCosh  their  very  general  desire  that 
the  evangelists  should  be  invited  to  spend  a  day  at  the  college. 
The  Doctor  gladly  undertook  to  extend  the  invitation.  Visiting 
the  gentlemen  at  Philadelphia,  he  obtained  from  them  a  promise 
that  they  should  spend  the  "Day  of  Prayer  for  Colleges  "  at 
Princeton.  Mr.  Moody,  however,  having  to  go  to  Florida,  was 
unable  to  fulfill  his  engagement.  Then  said  the  students,  "Let 
us  go  on,  as  we  are,  and  if  we  cannot  have  Mr.  Moody,  let  us 
beseech  the  presence  of  the  Lord."  With  this  mind  they  initi- 
ated a  movement  which  has  had  its  fruit  in  an  almost  unprece- 
dented interest  in  spiritual  things,  heightening  and  spreading  day 
by  day,  and  yet  on  the  increase.  Rev.  Dr.  W.  M.  Taylor,  of 
New  York,  and  Dr.  Cuyler  have  been  here  addressing  the  stu- 
dents. On  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  latter  nearly  a  hun- 
dred rose  for  prayer  in  response  to  his  appeals.  This  is  perhaps 
the  most  opportune  moment  for  the  coming  of  Messrs.  Moody 
and  Sankey.  A  student  said  to  me,  "  It  is  better  that  they 
should  come  now  than  that  they  should  have  come  before,  for 
now  the  harvest  is  ripe." 

That  an  extraordinary  condition  of  spiritual  awakening  is 
prevalent  was  at  once  manifest  when  hymn  after  hymn  was  given 
out  and  caught  by  the  waiting  multitude,  to  pass  the  time  until 
Mr.  Moody  should  arrive.  And  the  vigor  and  enthusiasm  with 
which  the  melodies  were  rendered  betokened  a  more  than  su- 
perficial acquaintance  with  the  "  Sacred  Songs  and  Solos." 
The  sonorous  voices  of  the  students — bass,  tenor,  and  baritone 
— blending  together  in  pleasant  harmony,  and  the  evident  im« 
pulse  and  heart  with  which  they  sang,  produced  a  fine  eff"ect,  and 
made  music  with  a  ring  that  meant  something. 

Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  stepped  upon  the  platform  about 
half-past  seven.  With  them  were  seated  Rev.  Dr.  McCorkle, 
pastor  of  the  church  j  I^ev.  Dr.  McDonald,  of  the  First  Presby- 


THE    PRINCETON    REVIVAL.  379 

terian  Church  ;  Professors  Aiken  and  Green,  and  Mr.  G.  H. 
Sluart.  Dr.  McCosh  sat  with  the  audience  in  front  of  liic 
pulpit. 

"  Come,  Thou  fount  of  every  blessing,"  was  the  opening  hymn, 
Mi.  Sankey  leading  at  a  portable  organ.  After  prayer  by  one 
of  the  clergy,  Mr.  Sankey  sang  the  '*  Ninety  and  Nine  "  with  his 
accustomed  effect.     It  was  listened  to  in  intense  silence. 

Mr.  Moody  said  he  would  take  a  subject  rather  than  a  text. 
He  understood  that  there  had  been  quite  a  religious  awakening 
in  the  place,  and  no  doubt  many  were  asking  the  question 
"Why  should  I  be  interested  in  the  Son  of  God."  For  this 
reason  he  wished  to  speak  to  them  upon  "  What  Christ  is  to 
us."  First,  said  he,  Christ  is  a  Saviour.  He  is  a  Saviour  be- 
cause man  wanted  a  Saviour,  and  God,  knowing  that  want,  pro- 
vided for  it.  And  Christ  is  a  Saviour  to  all.  No  one  yet  ever 
came  to  Him  and  was  cast  out.  He  is  also  a  deliverer.  When 
we  are  saved,  that  is  not  all.  We  have  only  commenced  our 
warfare,  against  sin.  Satan  snares  us  again  and  again  into  his 
toils,  but  Christ  is  almighty  to  set  us  free.  He  is  the  Way. 
When  a  person  is  just  converted  he  says  :  "  What  church  shall 
I  join.  There  are  the  Methodists  and  the  Presbyterians,  and 
the  Episcopalians,  each  claiming  to  be  the  true  church.  What 
am  I  to  do.?"  Christ  says  "I  am  the  way."  He  will  be  to 
the  guideless  one  as  the  cloud  and  the  pillar  of  fire  to  the  wan- 
dering Israelites.  Some  think  we  are  getting  wiser  than  the 
Bible — it  might  do  for  the  dark  ages,  but  this  is  a  time  of  en- 
lightenment. I  always  say  to  these  people,  "  Bring  me  a  better 
book  than  the  Bible  and  I  will  throw  it  away."  You  might  as 
well  say,  "  What  splendid  gas  we  have  now.  Let  us  build  all 
our  churches  and  houses  without  windows.  We  don't  want  the 
sun  any  more.  It  was  good  enough  for  our  fathers,  but  we 
have  something  better."  The  illustration  was  well  received. 
The  audience  saw  its  aptness,  and  smiled  assent  to  its  force. 
Young  man,  said  Mr.  Moody,  your  mother  was  right.  Don't 
give  up  your  mother's  Bible,  or  your  mother's  God.  Look  at 
those  who  have  cut  loose  from  the  old  moorings.  How  do  they 
die  ?  and  how  does   the  Christian  die  ?    Take  Christ  for  your 


380  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

^ide.  He  has  been  down  here  and  blazed  out  the  way,  as 
they  say  out  West,  and  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  follow.  Mr. 
Moody  here  told  with  great  effect  the  story  of  the  man  whose 
child  was  dead,  but  who  saw  in  a  dream  his  little  one  in  a 
beautiful  land,  radiant  and  happy,  and  saw  her. beckon  him  to 
come  to  her — his  futile  effort  to  do  so,  and  his  hearing  the  voice 
of  Christ  saying  to  him  "  I  am  the  way."  The  impression  pro- 
duced was  profound.  Many  were  bathed  in  tears.  But,  said 
the  speaker,  Christ  is  also  the  Light.  This  he  illustrated  by 
telling  of  a  man  climbing  a  high  mountain  to  see  the  sun  rise. 
A  storm  raged  so  furiously  that  he  would  fain  have  retraced  his 
steps.  "  No,"  said  the  guide,  "  we'll  soon  be  above  the  storm." 
A  little  higher  up  they  found  themselves  where  no  rain  had 
been  and  whence  looking  down  upon  the  wild  play  of  lightning 
and  turmoil  of  elements,  they  were  quickly  bathed  in  the  rays 
of  an  unhidden  sun.  So  with  the  Christian.  Above  the  storm 
is  light  and  peace,  and  the  higher  one  climbs  above  the  en- 
tanglements of  earth,  the  surer  he  will  be  to  catch  tl^e  sun's 
earliest  cheer.  "  All  moonshine "  some  say  of  religion. 
Thank  you  for  the  compliment.  The  moon  reflects  the  light 
of  the  sun,  and  Christians  do,  or  should  do  the  same  thing  pre- 
cisely, reflecting  the  light  diffused  upon  them.  He  tohl  the 
story  of  the  blind  man  carrying  a  lantern  that  others  might  not 
stumble  upon  him,  to  show  the  importance  of  our  taking  care 
to  be  living  epistles,  and  lights  rather  than  stumbling-blocks  in 
the  way  of  others.  In  contrasting  the  death  of  the  righteous 
and  unsaved,  he  related  the  affecting  war  incident  in  which  a 
young  man  dying  from  his  battle-wound  sends  to  his  mother 
and  sisters  his  last  message  :  "  Tell  them  I  died  trusting  in 
Christ — tell  them  to  be  sure  and  meet  me  in  heaven." 

The  students  seemed  mucli  interested  in  the  recital,  and  the 
effect  was  marked.  Going  on  to  speak  of  skeptics,  Mr.  Moody 
said  that,  unlike  many,  he  had  much  sympathy  for  honest 
doubters,  but  he  had  only  one  word  for  them  alk  If  they  seek 
wisdom,  let  them  come  to  God,  who  '*  giveth  liberally  and  up- 
braiJeth  not."  His  remarks  upon  this  point  were  admirably 
calculated  for  such  of  the  students  as  might  have  been  inclined 


THE    PRINCETON    REVIVAL.  '  381 

to  cavilling.  If  they  were  as  they  usually  profess,  only  seeking 
truth,  he  told  them  where  to  apply  for  it.  Lastly,  he  presented 
Christ  as  our  Lurdcn-bearer,  and  appealed  to  his  hearers,  if 
they  were  burdened  with  a  load  of  any  kind,  to  roll  it  off  upon 
Him.  If  it  were  a  load  of  sin,  did  He  not  take  all  our  sins  on 
His  own  shoulders,  and  bear  them  for  us  upon  the  tree  ?  Was 
it  any  other  care  or  trouble,  is  anything  too  great  for  Him  to 
carry?  He  might  go  on,  did  not  time  forbid,  to  speak  of  Him 
as  our  Advocate,  our  Surety,  our  Justification,  our  Sanctification 
— yea  our  all  in  all.  Surely  it  is  downright  madness  to  turn 
away  from  such  a  friend.  Oh,  might  they  see  Him  as  the  one 
alto<iether  lovelv,  the  bright  and  mornino:  star. 

Mr.  Sankey  sang  "  Go  Bury  Thy  Sorrow  "  with  exquisite 
pathos,  and  Rev.  Dr.  McDonald  pronounced  the  benediction. 

Mr.  Moody  was  announced  to  speak  to  the  students  at  nine 

in  the  morning.    At  that  hour  the  apartment  was  densely  crowded     ; 
with   young   students    to  the  number  of  about  five    hundred.-;^ — t 
There  were  present  of  the  faculty  :  President  McCosh,  Profes- 
sors Green,  Hodge,   Alexander,   Aiken,   Macloskie,   Duffield, 
Cameron  and  Hunt.     Mr.   Moody  arrived  in  ill-condition,  hav- 
ing a  severe  headache.     The  room  was  a  little  chilly,  and  as  its 
smallness  compelled  him   to  speak   in  a  much  more  subdued 
tone  than  he  is  accustomed  to,  circumstances  did  not  seem  to 
favor  the  production  of  any  remarkable  impression. 
^"~~Mr.  Sankey  sang  "  Free  from  the  law;  oh  happy  condition," 
as  a  solo,  the  audience  uniting  in  the  chorus.  ^ 

Prof.  Macloskie  said  prayers  were  requested  for  two  mem- 
bers of  the  junior  class,  and  then  led  in  a  brief  petition. 

Mr.  Moody  read  Romans  iii.,  10-22,  and  proceeded  to  preach 
his  well-known  discourse  on  "  For  there  is  no  difference." 
The  series  of  happy  illustrations,  which  will  recur  to  our  read- 
ers, with  which  he  is  wopt  to  make  clear  the  equality  of  man- 
kind before  God,  the  depravity  of  his  nature,  and  his  need  of 
some  means  to  bring  him  out  of  condemnation,  were  quickly 
apprehended,  and  well  appreciated  by  the  students.  Once  in  a 
while  as  something  particularly  quaint  would  escape  Mr.  Moody's 
lips,  a  ripple  of  merriment  would  pass  over  the  congregation, 


382  MOODY  AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

but  SO  far  from  levity,  it  was  an  expression  of  sympathy  with 
the  speaker's  broad  and  kindly  humor,jand  of  that  pleasure 
which  we  all  experience  when  an  illustration  is  strikingly  origi- 
nal, and  when  in  connection  with  its  accompanying  truth  it 
seems  particularly  "  pat."  But  in  his  pathetic  mood,  in  the 
relation  of  war  tales  and  incidents  having  to  do  with  domestic 
concernments,  the  effect  he  produced  was  even  more  pronounced. 
If  professors  and  students  seem  all  intellect,  under  Mr.  Moody's 
spell  they  quickly  betray  that  they  have  tenderest  hearts.  Grey- 
browed  dignitaries  wept  to-day  with  the  youngest  freshmen. 
When  at  the  close  of  his  exhortation  Mr.  Moody  requested 
such  as  desired  to  be  remembered  in  prayer  to  rise,  fifteen 
students,  regardless  of  any  presence,  responded  ;  and  when  he 
wished  the  Christians  in  the  room  who  desired  to  be  endued 
with  more  consecration  to  rise  also,  the  audience  seemed  to 
spring  to  their  feet  en  masse,  the  merest  fraction  retaining  their 
seats.  Surely  the  Lord  is  working  here,  and  moving  in 
His  might. 

Fully  half  an  hour  before  the  time  for  commencing  the  after- 
noon meeting  (3.30)  the  Second  Presbyterian  church  was 
packed  in  every  part.  All  the  afternoon,  sleighs  came  in  from 
the  country,  bringing  their  burdens  from  far  and  near,  and  as 
soon  as  the  church  doors  were  opened  continuous  processions 
filed  through  them  and  quickly  filled  up  the  building.  The 
inevitable  confusion  resultant  upon  trying  to  find  every  one 
seats  or  even  standing  accommodation,  ensued.  Chairs  were 
handed  about  over  people's  heads,  all  manner  of  pushing  and 
crowding  occurred,  and  a  good  deal  of  jostling  pleasantly  sub- 
mitted to.  The  interval  before  the  hour  of  opening  was  spent 
in  singing  a  number  of  hymns,  and  in  occasional  supplication 
in  the  words  of  several  of  the  clergymen  present. 

At  half- past  three  Mr.  Sankey,  with  Messrs.  Stuart  and  Cree, 
of  Philadelphia,  entered.  Mr.  Stuart  announced  that  in  conse- 
quence of  indisposition  Mr.  Moody  would  be  unable  just  then 
to  participate.  He  asked  Mr.  Sankey  to  take  charge  of  the 
meeting  until  Mr.  Moody  should  arrive,  in  case  he  should  be 
able  to  attend. 


THE   PRINCETON    REVIVAL.  383 

Mr.  Sankey  gave  out  the  hymn,  "  I  need  Thee  every  hour," 
which  was  sung  by  the  audience  standing.  Prayer  was  offered 
by  Dr.  Aiken. 

Mr.  Sankey  said  he  would  sing  '*  Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth 
by."  He  related  an  incident  that  had  in  his  mind  entwined 
itself  around  it.  It  was  that  of  the  you,pg  man  in  Brooklyn 
who  had  promised  his  old  mother  in  Dundee  that  he  would 
attend  Mr.  Moody's  meetings  if  he  had  opportunity,  and  who 
consequently  frequented  the  meetings  at  the  Rink  and  was 
converted.  "  Too  late — too  late  !  "  in  this  little  song  were  the 
words  that  reached  his  heart.  The  solo  was  then  rendered  in 
Mr.  Sankey's  most  fervent  manner. 

Mr.  T.  K.  Cree,  of  Philadelphia,  gave  some  account  of  the 
work  and  the  harvest  in  that  city,  comparing  the  numbers  that 
thronged  the  depot  with  the  present  gathering,  to  afford  some 
realization  of  the  magnitude  of  the  former.  He  proceeded  to 
speak  upon  the  utility  of  the  inquiry  room  and  the  value  of 
individual  effort,  urging  the  people  of  Princeton  to  make  use  of 
these  most  important  means  of  influence.  He  gave  a  number 
of  practical  hints  to  further  the  success  of  any  such  measures, 
and  closed  with  an  appeal  to  the  unconverted. 

The  hymn  "  Hallelujah,  'tis  done,"  was  sung  by  Mr.  Sankey, 
the  audience  taking  up  the  chorus  with  great  spirit. 

Mr.  Stuart  here  said  he  had  just  received  a  message  from 
Mr.  Moody,  stating  that  he  was  hungry  for  work,  and  that 
while  he  could  not  come  to  this  meeting,  his  presence  might  be 
relied  upon  this  evening. 

Mr.  Stuart  proceeded  to  supplement  Mr.  Cree's  report  of 
the  awakening  in  Philadelphia  by  telling  in  glowing  terms  of 
its  extent  and  power  as  he  had  observed  it.  He  also  laid  great 
stress  on  the  value  of  inquiry  meetings.  They  had  been  of  vast 
benefit  to  the  Christians  of  his  city  in  entangling  them  into 
actual  contact  with  sinners,  and  imbuing  them  with  a  love  of 
the  work. 

"  In  fact,"  said  he,  '*  I  am  not  ashamed  to  say  to  you  here  at 
Princeton  that  during  my  forty-three  years  of  God's  service  I 
never  knew  what  Christian   life  was  until  within  the  last  nine 


384  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

weeks."  He  gave  a  number  of  instances  indicating  how  wide- 
spread and  unmistakable  have  been  the  fruits  of  the  great  cam- 
paign. In  closing,  he  made  a  stirring  appeal  to  newly  converted 
Christians  to  be  alive  to  the  rescue  of  their  fellows,  and,then  to 
the  unsaved,  whom  he  entreated  most  affectionately  to  accept 
redemption. 

The  impulse  thus  given  to  the  revival  carried  it  forward  until 
a  very  thorough  renovation  took  place,  so  that  a  well-informed 
observer  writes : 

The  revival  in  Princeton  college  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  means  of  grace  now  transpiring,  or  that  has 
taken  place  for  many  years  in  college  life.  There  are  nearly 
five  hundred  students  in  that  institution.  Fully  one  hundred 
conversions  are  said  to  have  taken  place  since  the  week  of 
prayer.  And  the  college  officers  declare  that  at  this  time  there 
is  scarcely  a  student  who  is  not  more  or  less  serious  on  the 
subject  of  his  personal  salvation.  Before  the  work  began,  there 
were  about  one  hundred  professed  Christians  among  the  stu- 
dents, but  in  a  generally  cold  state.  The  week  of  prayer  wit- 
nessed a  quickening  among  these,  and  they  resolved  that  each 
one  would  labor  personally  and  earnestly  with  some  one  of  the 
unconverted  to  bring  them  to  Christ.  By  the  blessing  of  God 
this  personal  Christian  labor  has  resulted  in  the  wonderful  work 
of  saving  grace  now  witnessed. 

Mr.  Moody  himself  said  in  his  first  sermon  in  New  York  : 

I  have  just  come  from  Princeton,  and  I  must  confess  that  I 
have  not  seen  anything  in  America  that  has  pleased  me  like 
what  I  have  seen  in  Princeton.  They  have  got  a  Holy  Ghost 
revival  there.  The  President  of  the  college  told  me  he  had 
never  seen  anything  like  it,  and  one  of  the  faculty  told  me  he 
had  never  seen  anything  like  it  in  Princeton.  Well,  I  inquired 
into  it  and  I  found  that  they  had  been  disappointed  and  could 
get  nobody  to  come,  and  so  they  determined  to  hold  meetings 
themselves,  and  they  did,  and  one  of  the  faculty  got  up  and 
asked  them  to  pray  for  him,  and  right  there  the  work  broke 
OUT  and  there  have  been  brought  back  to  the  fold  of  Christ  fifty 


I 


THE    PRINCETON    REVIVAU  3^5 

within  the  last  few  days,  and  it  looks  now  as  if  all  Princeton 
was  going  to  be  blessed. 

I  saw  more  zeal  when  I  was  in  Princeton  last  Sunday  than  I 
have  in  many  a  year.  I  was  talking  to  the  students  thereabout 
their  souls,  and  after  I  had  been  talking  for  some  time,  quite  a 
group  of  young  men  gathered  around  me,  and  the  moment  that 
one  of  them  made  a  surrender  and  said,  "  Well  I  will  accept 
Christ,"  it  seemed  as  if  there  were  twenty-five  hands  pressed 
right  down  to  shake  hands  with  him.  That  is  what  we  want — 
men  that  will  rejoice  to  hear  of  the  conversion  of  men. 

To  the  depth  and  vitality  of  the  work,  we  are  able  to  add  this 
crowning  testimony  :  Our  prayer  meetings  are  largely  attended 
and  marked  by  a  deep  and  quiet  solemnity.  We  have  reached^ 
that  stage  in  the  work  which  the  early  Church  experienced  im- 
mediately after  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  souls  were  added 
to  the  church  daily. 

One  by  one,  those  of  whose  conversion  we  had  almost  de- 
spaired;  rise  to  tell  us  of  their  hope  in  a  newly  found  Saviour 
Croakers  and  scoffers  have  been  put  to  silence  by  the  stead- 
fastness of  the  converts.  Men  enslaved  to  habit,  whose  college 
life  had  been  characterized  by  every  species  of  excess^  are  now 
"careful  to  depart  from  all  iniquity,"  and  have  become  active 
workers  in  the  cause  of  Christ.  Skeptics  seek  in  vain  a  solution 
of  such  phenomena.     It  is  the  "mystery  of  godliness." 

From  this  centre  of  religious  influence  a  spirit  of  revival  has 
radiated  into  many  hearts,  homes  and  churches  of  the  land 
We  are  now  hearing  from  numbers  of  churches  blessed  with  rich 
outpourings  of  the  Spirit,  begun  by  the  simple  accounts  given 
by  the  students  of  the  gracious  work  here.  Some  of  the  stu- 
dents devoted  the  vacation  of  two  weeks  exclusively  to  such 
work,  in  the  churches  of  their  respective  homes  and  elsewhere, 
and  God  has  blessed  these  humble  efforts  to  the  conversion  of 
many  souls. 


386  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  Hippodrome  of  New  York. 

A  CLERGYMAN  writing  to  Philadelphia  gives  a  graphic  sketch : 

As  in  Philadelphia,  the  location  of  our  Tabernacle  is  in  the 
very  centre  of  the  city,  accessible  from  every  direction  by  all 
classes.  On  one  side  of  it  lie  the  homes  of  wealth,  the  avenues 
of  fashion,  and  the  great  hotels,  on  the  other  the  masses  of  the 
middle  classes,  and  a  little  beyond,  the  crowded  abodes  of  the 
poor  and  the  dens  of  wretchedness  and  vice.  It  is  the  old  de- 
pot of  the  Harlem  Railroad,  and  occupies  the  block  bounded 
by  Madison  and  Fourth  Avenues  and  Twenty-sixth  and  Twenty- 
seventh  streets.  It  was  the  scene  of  Barnum's  great  pageant, 
and  subsequently  of  Gilmore's  monster  concerts.  It  is  about 
one-fourth  larger  than  your  "  Depot  Church."  Mr.  Varley 
preached  here  for  several  Sabbaths,  the  first  occasion  being  a 
wonder  to  every  one.  On  a  wild  and  stormy  winter's  night, 
fifteen  thousand  people  crowded  the  place,  while  multitudes  were 
unable  to  gain  entrance.  Frequently  then  the  roar  of  the  wild 
beasts  would  be  heard  mingling  with  the  singing  and  prayers. 

The  committee  have  rented  this  structure  at  one  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars  a  week  and  spent  ten  thousand  dollars  in 
fitting  it  for  the  meetings.  It  has  been  divided  into  two  great 
halls,  one  seating  six  thousand  five  hundred,  the  other  four  thou- 
sand, while  between  there  is  a  wide  space  inclosed  for  inquiry- 
rooms  and  for  the  evangelists,  v.ith  a  passage  from  one  to  the  other 
for  their  use.  It  is  expected  that  after  speaking  in  the  large 
room  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey  will  pass  over  to  the  other  or 
overflow  meeting,  where  meantime  addresses  and  prayers  are  to 
be  made  by  clergymen  and  laymen,  chosen  for  their  adaptation 
to  such  work. 

The  appearance  of  the   rooms  is  warm  and  business-like. 


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THE    WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW   YORK.  3^7 

There  will  not  be  the  vast  sea  of  twelve  thousand  faces  as  in 
Philadelphia,  but  it  is  thought  more  effective  work  can  be  done 
with  a  more  limited  number.  No  tickets  are  issued  to  the  gen- 
eral public.  Except  the  "  workers"  and  choir,  all  arc  on  a  par 
in  this  respect,  welcome,  up  to  the  capacity  of  the  building. 

It  was  not  a  pleasant  thing  for  our  metropolitan  Christians  to 
be  compelled  to  wait  till  Brooklyn  and  Philadelphia  had  been 
visited  by  the  evangelists,  before  our  turn  would  come.  But 
the  Lord  has  had  better  thoughts  concerning  us  than  our  own. 
The  interval  has  been  a  season  of  instruction  and  preparation 
such  as  cannot  fail  to  render  their  labors  among  us  far  more 
fruitful  than  they  could  otherwise  have  been.  On  the  one  hand 
the  edge  of  nTere  curiosity  has  been  dulled  and  the  glamour  of 
novelty  been  dispelled.  Much  has  been  learned  by  us  from  the 
experience  of  our  two  neighboring  cities,  both  of  the  hindrances 
and  the  helps  to  a  solid  success.  Plenty  of  time  for  preparatory 
work  on  the  part  of  our  committees  has  been  allowed,  and  as 
for  our  churches,  the  Lord  has  been  anointing  them  with  fresh 
oil  and  girding  them  with  power  by  a  spiritual  refreshing  and 
quickening,  so  that  while  we  are  disposed  to  lean  less  upon  these 
beloved  men,  we  are  yet  in  more  thorough  sympathy  with  their 
spirit,  and  welcome  them  with  a  chastened  joy  and  solemn 
earnestness  which  we  might  not  otherwise  have  felt. 

Many  Christians  are  already  full  of  work  in  gathering  a  har- 
vest in  their  own  congregations  ;  so  there  will  be  more  room  for 
the  unconverted  to  fill  the  seats  at  the  Hippodrome,  while  meet- 
ings will  be  so  regulated  in  the  different  churches  as  to  allow 
efficient  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  pastors  and  devout  men 
and  women  with  the  general  work  of  the  evangelists.  Already 
a  band  of  several  hundred  have  consecrated  themselves  to  the 
special  duties  of  the  inquiry- room.  They  represent  all  evangel- 
ical denominations,  and  all  our  prominent  churches,  and  have 
been  under  training  for  weeks  past  through  lectures  from  expe- 
rienced pastors  in  Dr.  Ormiston's  church,  which  has  been  crowd- 
ed by  those  anxious  to  hear  the  most  practical  truths  connected 
with  directing  the  soul  to  its  Saviour.  Meantime  a  fragrant 
cloud  of  prayer  has  been  ascending  from  our  home  altars,  our 
i8* 


388  MOODY    AND    SANKEY   IN    AMERICA. 

noon-day  meetings  (of  which  we  have  had  four  in  different  parts 
of  the  city),  and  from  all  our  churches,  that  the  Lord  would 
work  mightily.  We  firmly  believe  that  the  day  of  Pentecost  has 
fully  come. 

A  preparatory  meeting  was  held  Sabbath  evening  for  dedica- 
tion of  the  building  and  consecration  of  the  laborers.  Wm.  E. 
Dodge,  chairman  of  the  general  committee,  presided.  About 
one  thousand  five  hundred  v/ere  present,  it  being  a  stormy  night 
and  the  meeting  held  at  9  o'clock.  There  was  nothing  formal. 
Bishop  James,  the  Rev.  Drs.  Paxton,  T.  D.  Anderson,  and 
Tucker,  Gen.  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  C.  Tiffany,  and 
others,  engaged  in  prayer  and  tender  appeal,  all  breathing  the 
spirit  of  utter  dependence  on  the  Infinite  arm,  anfi  travailing  for 
the  souls  of  sinners. 

Monday  night  a  dense  mass  of  people  blocked  the  streets  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Hippodrome.  In  twenty  minutes  after  the 
opening  of  the  doors  seven  thousand  people  were  quietly  seated, 
or  standing  in  the  main  hall,  and  four  thousand  in  the  other  ; 
while  several  thousand  lingered  around  the  doors  to  catch  the 
echo  of  the  speakers  and  the  singers. 

The  audience  represented  mainly  the  middle  and  upper  classes 
of  our  population,  and  appeared  about  equally  divided  between 
church  people  and  the  irreligious.  There  was,  however,  a  pre- 
vailing atmosphere  of  seriousness  rather  than  of  curiosity.  On 
the  platform  the  pastors  of  the  city  were  largely  represented,  and 
a  choir  of  five  hundred  were  at  the  left  of  the  speaker's  stand. 
In  many  respects  the  arrangements  for  ushers  and  telegraphic 
communication  are  the  same  as  in  Philadelphia.  Promptly  at 
8  o'clock,  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  appear  on  the  platform. 
They  do  not  seem  at  all  worn  with  their  previous  labors.  ''  J^et 
us  all  bow  our  heads  in  silent  prayer,"  is  Mr.  Moody's  first 
utterance,  and  instantly,  as  when  a  wind  sweeps  over  a  field  of 
grain,  all  are  bowed  and  a  thrilling  stillness  follows.  Then 
"  Jesus  lover  of  my  soul,"  rings  out.  Bishop  Janes  leads  in 
prayer ;  "  Hold  the  Fort  "  wakes  the  echoes  of  the  room  and 
Blirs  the  blood  of  thousands  and  is  followed  by  the  sweet  song 
significant    at    this   moment,   "What   shall  the  Harvest  be?" 


0 
THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  389 

Tears  arc  in  many  eyes.  And  now  Mr.  Moody  announces  his 
text,  "  But  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to 
confound  the  things  that  are  mighty." 

Just  as  we  expected,  his  theme  was  the  plan  of  God  to  work 
powerfully  through  human  weakness,  that  the  glory  may  be  his. 
He  warned  them  against  dependence  on  crowds,  or  instruments, 
or  accessions.  Urged  them  to  crucify  the  great  "  I,"  to  have  our 
face  in  the  dust  that  we  may  receive  God's  message  and  proclaim 
it  with  success.  I  cannot  give  a  description  of  the  sermon  ;  they 
who  have  heard  the  like  do  not  need  it.  Every  one  feels  that  the 
meeting  was  all  that  could  be  desired  for  tone  and  spiritual  vigor. 
Mr.  Moody  has  improved  surprisingly  in  his  delivery.  When 
in  Brooklyn  he  spoke  220  words  per  minute.  Last  evening  he 
spoke  only  about  180.  Moreover,  the  arrangement  of  his  topics 
has  more  system  than  heretofore,  and  his  first  effort  in  this  city 
was  much  more  powerful  than  the  first  one  in  Brooklyn.  The 
closing  part  was  the  best,  and  at  the  culminating  point  a  chorus 
of  "  amens  "  came  from  all  parts  of  the  vast  assembly,  and  when 
he  said  "  O  may  the  spirit  of  Elisha  rest  upon  us  here,"  the  full 
force  of  his  remarks  fell  with  great  power  upon  the  congregation. 
Additional  experience  has  improved  Mr.  Moody  very  materially. 
It  is  the  testimony  of  his  friends  that  the  more  he  preaches  the 
better  he  preaches.  Years  ago  he  stammered  badly,  but  has 
continually  been  improving,  and  in  other  respects  he  is  growing 
stronger  and  more  intense^  There  is  the  same  deep  faith  in  the 
power  of  Christianity  to  save  the  world  from  sorrow  and  sin,  but 
it  glows  with  an  intense  flame.  His  faith  is  a  living  one.  It 
is  a  power,  active  on  all  occasions,  and  which  at  no  time  grows 
cold  or  lifeless. 

If  it  was  a  surprise  to  the  journalist  that  thousands  should 
pour  out  on  a  wintry  night  to  the  cheerless  Hippodrome,  which 
is  one  of  the  monuments  of  the  career  of  the  gigantic  humbug 
of  the  generation,  to  hear  the  Scriptures  expounded  by  this 
uncouih  exliorter,  this  wonder  must  have  grown  when  tiie  same 
vast  throng  crowded  the  places  o^  meeting  the  next  day  ap.d 
evening,  and  continued  to  do  so  for  months.  Many  a  circum- 
stance clearly   proved   that  the  central  figure  was  the  earnest 


390  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

talker.  In  his  sermon  on  "faith  "  he  related  thrilling  incidents 
and  made  powerful  appeals. 

When  I  was  at  Nashville,  during  our  late  war,  I  was  closing 
the  noon  prayer-meeting  one  day  and  a  great  strong  man  came 
up  to  me,  trembling  from  head  to  foot.  He  took  a  letter  out  of 
his  pocket  and  wanted  to  have  me  read  it.  It  was  a  letter  from 
his  sister.  The  sister  stated  in  that  letter  that  every  night  as 
the  sun  went  down  she  went  on  her  knees  to  pray  for  him.  The 
sister  was  six  hundred  miles  away,  and  said  the  soldier,  "  I  never 
thought  of  my  soul  until  last  night.  I  have  stood  before  the 
cannon's  mouth  and  it  never  made  me  tremble,  but  sir,  I 
haven't  slept  a  wink  since  I  got  that  letter."  I  think  there  is 
many  a  Christian  here  who  understands  what  that  letter  meant. 
The  Lord  had  seen  her  faith.  It  was  God  honoring  faith,  and 
it  was  God  answering  prayer.  And  so,  my  friends,  if  God  sees 
our  faith,  these  friends  that  we  are  anxious  for  will  be  brought 
to  Christ. 

Let  us  go  out  and  bring  all  our  friends  here,  and  if  there  is 
poor  preaching,  we  can  bring  down  from  Heaven  the  necessary 
blessings  without  good  preaching.  In  Philadelphia  a  skeptic 
came  in  just  out  of  curiosity.  He  wanted  to  see  the  crowd,  and 
he  hadn't  more  than  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  door  before 
the  Spirit  of  God  met  him,  and  I  asked  him  if  there  was  any- 
thing in  the  sermon  that  influenced  him,  in  hopes  that  I  was 
going  to  get  something  to  encourage  me  ;  but  he  could  not  tell 
what  the  text  was.  I  asked  him  if  it  was  the  singing,  but  he 
didn't  know  what  Mr.  Sankey  had  sung.  It  was  the  power  of 
God  alone  that  converted  him,  and  that  is  what  we  want  in 
these  meetings.  If  we  have  this  power,  when  we  invite  our 
friends  here,  the  Lord  will  meet  them  and  will  answer  prayer 
and  save  them.  Let  us  go  and  bring  our  unconverted  friends 
here.  All  through  the  services  let  us  be  lifting  up  our  hearts 
in  prayer.  God  save  our  friend  1  O  God,  convert  him  !  And 
in  answer  to  our  prayer  the  Lord  will  save  them. 

While  in  London  there  was  a  man  away  off  in  India — a  godly 
father — who  had  a  son  in  London,  and  he  got  a  furlough  and 
came  from  India  to  London  to  see  after  his  son's  spiritual  wel 


THE  WORK  OF  GRACE  IN  NEW  YORK.         39 1 

fare.  Do  you  think  God  let  that  man  come  thus  far  without 
honorinr;^  that  faith.  No.  He  converted  that  son,  and  that  is 
the  kind  we  want — where  faith  and  works  go  together  ;  and  if 
we  have  faith  God  will  honor  it  and  answer  our  prayer.  Only 
a  few  years  ago  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  there  was  a  mother 
that  had  two  sons.  They  were  just  going  as  fast  as  they  could 
to  ruin.  They  were  breaking  her  heart,  and  she  went  into  a 
little  prayer-meeting  and  got  up  and  presented  them  for  prayer. 
They  had  been  on  a  drunken  spree  or  had  just  got  started  in 
that  way,  and  she  knew  that  their  end  would  be  a  drunkard's 
grave,  and  she  went  among  these  Christians  and  said,  "  Won't 
you  just  cry  to  God  for  my  two  boys  "  ?  The  next  morning 
those  two  boys  had  made  an  appointment  to  meet  each  other 
on  the  corner  of  Market  and  Thirteenth-sts. — though  not  that 
they  knew  anything  about  our  meeting — and  while  one  of  them 
was  there  at  the  corner,  waiting  for  his  brother  to  come,  he  fol- 
lowed the  people  who  were  flooding  into  the  depot  building, 
and  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  met  him,  and  he  was  wounded  and 
found  his  way  to  Christ.  After  his  brother  came,  he  found  the 
place  too  crowded  to  enter,  so  he  too  went  curiously  into  an- 
other meeting  and  found  Christ,  and  went  home  happy ;  and 
when  he  got  home  he  told  his  mother  what  the  Lord  had  done 
for  him,  and  the  second  son  came  in  with  the  same  tidings.  I 
heard  one  get  up  afterward  to  tell  his  experience  in  the  young 
converts'  meeting,  and  he  had  no  sooner  told  the  story  than 
the  other  got  up  and  said  :  "  I  am  that  brother,  and  there  is  not 
a  happier  home  in  Philadelphia  than  we  have  got ;  "  and  they 
went  out,  bringing  their  friends  to  Christ. 

Let  us  now  show  our  faith  by  our  works.  Let  us  away  to 
our  friends,  to  our  neighbors,  and  to  those  we  have  an  influence 
over,  and  let  us  talk  about  Christ  and  let  us  plead  with  God 
that  they  may  be  converted,  and  instead  of  there  being  a  few 
thousand  converted  in  New  York,  tens  of  thousands  can  be  con- 
verted ;  and  let  our  prayers  go  up  to  God  in  our  homes  and 
around  our  family  altars.  Let  the  prayers  go  up,  '■  O,  God, 
save  my  unconverted  husband."  "  O,  God,  save  my  uncon- 
verted wife."     ^  O,  God,  save  my   unconverted  children/'  and 


392  MOODY   AND    SANK.EY    IN    AMERICA. 

God  will  hear  that  cry.  As  I  was  coming  out  of  a  daily  prayer- 
meeting  in  one  of  our  Western  cities,  a  mother  came  up  to  me 
and  said,  "  I  want  to  have  you  see  my  husband  and  ask  him  to 
come  to  Christ."  I  took  out  my  memorandum  book,  and  I  put 
down  his  name.  She  says,  "  I  want  to  have  you  go  and  see 
him."  I  knew  the  name  and  that  it  was  a  learned  judge,  and 
so  said  to  her,  "  I  can't  argue  with  him.  He  is  a  good  deal 
older  than  I  am  and  it  would  be  out  of  place.  Then  I  am  not 
much  for  infidel  argument."  "  Well,  Mr.  Moody,"  she  says, 
"  that  ain't  what  he  wants.  He's  got  enough  of  that.  Just  ask 
him  to  come  to  the  Saviour."  She  urged  me  so  hard  and  so 
strong,  that  I  consented  to  go.  I  went  up  to  the  office,  where 
the  Judge  was  doing  business,  to  tell  him  what  I  had  come  for. 
He  laughed  at  me.  "  You  are  very  foolish,"  he  said,  and  be- 
gan to  argue  with  me.  I  said,  "  I  don't  think  it  will  be  profit- 
able for  me  to  hold  an  argument  with  you.  I  have  just  one 
favor  I  want  to  ask  of  you,  and  that  is  that  when  you  are  con- 
verted you  will  let  me  know."  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "  I  will  do  that. 
When  I  am  converted  I  will  let  you  know" — with  a  good  deal 
of  sarcasm.  I  thought  the  prayers  of  that  wife  would  be  an- 
swered if  mine  were  not.  A  year  and  a  half  after  I  was  in  that 
city,  and  a  servant  came  to  my  door  and  said :  "  There  is  a  man 
in  the  drawing-room."  I  found  the  Judge  there.  He  said :  "  I 
promised  to  let  you  know  when  I  was  converted."  I  had  heard 
it  from  other  lips,  but  I  wanted  to  hear  it  from  his  own.  He 
said  his  wife  had  gone  out  to  a  meeting  one  night  and  he  was 
home  alone,  and  while  he  was  sitting  thereby  the  fire  he  thought, 
"  Supposing  my  wife  is  right,  and  my  children  are  right ;  sup- 
pose there  is  a  heaven  and  hell,  and  I  shall  be  separated  from 
them."  His  first  thought  was,  "I  don't  believe  a  word  of  it." 
The  second  thought  came,  "You  believe  in  the  God  that  created 
you,  and  that  the  God  that  created  you  is  able  to  teach  you. 
You  believe  that  God  can  give  you  life."  "Yes,  the  God  that 
created  me  can  give  me  life.  I  was  too  proud  to  get  down  on 
my  knees  by  the  fire,  and  I  said,  *  O,  God,  teach  me.'  And  as 
I  i)raycd,  I  don't  understand  it,  but  it  began  to  get  very  dark, 
and  my  heart  got  very  heavy.     I  was  afraid  to  tell  my  wife,  and 


THE    WORK   OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  393 

I  pretended  to  be  asleep.  She  kneeled  down  beside  that  bed» 
and  I  knew  that  she  was  praying  for  me.  I  kept  crying,  '  O 
God,  teach  me.'  I  had  to  chanp^e  my  prayer,  '  O  God,  save 
me  ;  O  God,  take  away  this  burden.'  But  it  grew  darker  and 
darker,  and  the  load  grew  heavier  and  heavier.  All  the  way 
10  my  office  I  kept  crying,  *  O  God,  take  away  this  load,'  I 
gave  my  clerks  a  holiday,  and  just  closed  my  office  and  locked 
the  door.  I  fell  down  on  my  face  ;  I  cried  in  agony  to  my  I^rd, 
*  O  Lord,  for  Christ's  sake  take  away  this  guilt.'  I  don't  know 
how  it  was,  but  it  began  to  grow  very  light.  I  said,  *  I  wonder 
if  this  isn't  what  they  call  conversic^.  I  think  I  will  go  and 
ask  the  minister  if  I  am  not  converted."  The  old  Judge  said 
to  me  :  "  Mr  Moody,  I  have  enjoyed  life  in  the  last  three  months 
more  than  all  put  together."  The  Judge  did  not  believe.  The 
wife  did,  and  God  honored  her  faith  and  saved  that  man.  And 
he  went  up  to  Springfield,  111.,  and  the  old  Judge  stood  up  there 
and  told  those  politicians  what  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  had 
done  for  him.  And  now  let  this  text  sink  down  deep  into  your 
hearts  :  "  When  He  saw  their  faith."  Let  us  lift  up  our  hearts 
to  God  in  prayer  that  He  may  give  us  faith. 

At  the  prayer-meeting  at  noon  Mr.  Moody,  before  reading 
the  Psalm  said  :  Now  let  us  at  once  get  down  to  ourselves. 
If  we  are  only  quickened  and  revived  ourselves  as  Christians, 
there  will  be  no  trouble  about  reaching  the  world.  In  this  fifty- 
first  Ps'alm  the  Psalmist  thirty-three  times  refers  to  himself  He 
is  not  praying  for  the  Church  now,  not  praying  for  Jerusalem 
now,  not  praying  for  His  kingdom  now,  but  praying  for  himself. 
It  is  a  good  thing  sometimes  to  get  home  to  ourselves,  especially 
we  that  are  engaged  in  working  for  our  brothers.  While  we 
are  looking  after  the  vineyards  of  others,  we  sometimes  neglect 
oui selves.  It  does  us  good  sometimes  just  to  get  down  to  our- 
selves. While  reading  the  psalm,  Mr.  Moody  stopped  short 
at  the  passage,  "  Create  a  clean  heart  in  me,  O  God  !  and  re- 
new a  right  spirit  within  me,"  and  said : 

It  i-eems  as  if  here  is  where  we  might  well  stop  and  say  a 
woid.  Is  our  heart  clean  in  <he  sight  of  God  .^  Has  He  re- 
\iewed  a  right  spirit  within  us  }     Do  we  show  that  in  our  home, 


394  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

in  our  daily  life,  in  our  business,  and  in  our  contact  with 
others  ?  If  we  do  not,  it  seems  to  me  it  is  better  to  be  praying 
for  ourselves  than  for  others,  that  the  world  may  see  that  we 
have  been  with  God's  spirit.  If  we  are  a  great  way  from  Christ 
in  all  our  ways,  our  words  will  be  cold  and  empty,  and  we  can- 
not reach  the  world.  There  is  power  enough  in  this  room  to 
move  all  New  York  if  we  had  the  right  spirit  and  clean  hearts. 
A  friend  of  mine  told  me  he  had  been  preaching  some  time  with- 
out seeing  any  result  in  his  church,  and  he  began  to  cry  to  God 
that  he  might  have  a  blessing  in  his  church.  He  said  weeks 
went  on  and  the  answer  didn't  come,  and  he  felt  as  if  he  must 
either  have  a  blessing  or  give  up  the  ministry.  He  must  have 
souls  or  die,  and  he  said  that  on  one  Sunday  he  threw  himself 
on  his  knees  in  his  study  and  cried  to  God  :  Oh,  God !  break 
this  heart  of  mine  and  give  me  a  contrite  spirit.  Just  at  this 
moment  he  heard  a  faint  rap  at  the  door,  and  opening  it,  his 
little  child,  four  years  old,  entered.  She  had  heard  her  father's 
prayer,  and  she  said :  "  Father,  I  wish  you  would  pray  for  me. 
I  want  a  clean  heart."  "And,"  said  he,  "  God  broke  my  heart, 
and  at  the  next  meeting  there  were  forty  inquirers,  after  that 
one  sermon.  '*  Oh,  that  our  hearts  may  be  tender,  and  may  we 
know  what  it  is  to  have  broken  hearts  and  contrite  spirits. " 

Mr.  Sankey  said  he  desired  to  call  attention  to  that  part  of 
the  psalm  commencing,  "  Restore  to  us  the  joy  of  thy  salva- 
tion." The  audience  now  became  expectant  at  the  prospect  of 
hearing  this  evangelist  speak,  as  he  rarely  makes  addresses  at 
the  rnvival  meetings.  He  told  the  story  of  a  minister  in  Lon- 
don who  was  with  them  in  their  work.  "  He  had  been  working 
with  us,"  said  the  singer,  "  and  yet  did  not  seem  to  have  any 
joy  and  happiness,  but  was  sad  and  weary-looking,  and  I 
noticed  that  the  burden  of  his  prayer  was,  "Restore  unto  us 
tiie  joy  of  thy  salvation  ;  "  but  I  also  observed  that  when  the 
inquirers  of  God  were  going  into  the  inquiry-room  to  be  spoken 
with,  that  dear  man  of  God  took  his  hat  and  went  home.  He 
may  have  gone  home  to  pray,  but  he  didn't  seem  to  have  any 
joyf)r  a  long  time.  One  eveYiing,  instead  of  going  home,  he 
took  his  hat  and  went  iuto  the   inquiry-room  to  labor  for  the 


THE  WORK  OF  GRACE  IN  NEW  YORK.        3(JS 

Lord  there,  and  wHd  should  sit  down  opposite  in  that  crowded 
inqu.ry-room  but  his  own  son  that  he  had  been  praying  for  for 
years  !  God  directed  him  to  that  chair,  and  he  spol<e  to  the 
boy  and  knelt  down  and  prayed  with  him  and  God  blessed  the 
son  there,  and  the  father  came  back  the  next  day  and  looked 
as  if  God  had  restored  to  him  the  joy  of  his  salvation,  and  he 
fitood  up  and  told  the  story  whenever  he  went  to  work  for 
Jesus  in  the  vineyard,  and  wherever  he  went  God  blessed  him, 
and  joy  was  restored.  I  hope  it  will  be  so  here  that  instead  of 
waiting  and  watching  for  feoling,  we  will  go  to  the  work  each 
one  of  us  and  see  if  God  will  not  restore  to  us  speedily  the  joy 
of  his  salvation,  and  may  be  we  will  see  some  of  our  own  dear 
sons  that  are  here  to-day." 

The  Rev.  William  Lloyd  gave  his  experience  of  the  efficacy 
of  prayer.  He  said  that  a  few  months  ago  during  service  in 
his  church  an  aged  man  stood  up  and  said  he  was  the  only  one 
of  a  large  family  who  believed  in  Christ.  He  was  very  much 
distressed,  and  said  he  had  a  daughter  who  had  sailed  for  Cali- 
fornia, and  that  he  desired  the  prayers  of  the  congregation  foi 
a  change  of  heart  in  her.  The  congregation  complied  with  his 
request,  and  in  a  short  time,  to  the  great  surprise  of  an  aged 
parent,  a  letter  came  to  him  from  his  daughter,  bringing  the 
glad  tidings  that  she  had  given  her  heart  to  Christ. 

Muddy  streets,  a  rainy  evening,  and   the  fact  that  several  of 
the  churches  were  holding  their  regular  prayer-meetings  did  not 
diminish  the  number  in  the  congregation  which  visited  the  Hip 
podrome  the  third  evening. 

When  the  first  stanza  of  the  hymn  "  Only  an  Armor-bearer' 
had  been  sung  the  whole  audience  rose,  making  a  low  murmur 
in  their  movement,  and  joined  in  the  chorus,  "  Hear  ye  the  Bat- 
lie  cry."  The  impression  was  deep  at  this  moment,  and  at 
intervals,  when  the  singers  paused  for  breath,  the  vast  hall  was 
as  quiet  as  though  no  one  had  been  there.  Mr.  Moody  read  a 
part  of  the  first  chapter  of  Joshua,  and  then  prayed  that  the 
blessing  of  Heaven  might  come  upon  all  those  present,  as  it 
had  upon  Joshua  in  the  days  of  old.  As  the  rain  comes  down 
from  heaven  so  may  Thy  blessing  fall  upon  us.     The.  hymn, 


39^  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

"  Nothing  but  leaves,  the  Spirit  grieves,"  was  sung  with 
deep  emotion  and  produced  a  noticeable  effect  upon  the  list- 
eners. 

Mr.  Moody's  sermon  was  even  more  earnest  than  those  he 
has  delivered  before  m  the  Hippodrome,  and  its  persuasive 
pDwer  was  greater  than  that  of  any  of  its  predecessors.  "  I 
don't  want  false  excitement — God  forbid  it,"  he  said,  and  witli 
the  words  a  murmur  of  approval  was  noticeable.  "  We  must 
light  our  torch  here  and  go  forth  ;  give  the  key-note  to  our  pur- 
poses in  these  meetings.  Are  not  souls  worth  more  than  this 
Republic .? "  he  cried,  and  emphasized  it  with  forcible  gestures. 
In  this  part  of  the  sermon  the  attention  of  the  audience  was 
very  close.  Seldom  could  an  eye  be  found  in  the  audience 
which  did  not  rest  upon  the  preacher.  His  mention  of  the  fire- 
man who  saved  a  child  from  perishing  in  flames  was  impressive 
in  its  expression,  and  carried  emotion  to  many  who  had  vivid 
recollections  of  the  Broadway  conflagration. 

This  was  the  illustration : — Once,  when  a  great  fire  broke 
out  at  midnight  and  people  thought  that  all  the  inmates  had 
been  taken  out,  way  up  there  in  the  fifth  story  was  seen  a  little 
child  crying  for  help.  Up  went  a  ladder,  and  soon  a  fireman 
was  seen  ascending  to  the  spot.  As  he  neared  the  second  story 
the  flames  burst  in  fury  from  the  windows,  and  the  multitude 
almost  despaired  of  the  rescue  of  the  child.  The  brave  man 
faltered,  and  a  comrade  at  the  bottom  cried  out,  "  Cheer  ! "  and 
cheer  upon  cheer  arose  from  the  crowd.  Up  the  ladder  he 
went  and  saved  the  child  because  they  cheered  him.  If  you 
cannot  go  into  the  heat  of  the  battle  yourself,  if  you  cannot  go 
into  the  harvest  field  and  work  day  after  day,  you  can  cheer 
those  that  are  working  for  the  Master. 

During  the  meetings  of  Mr.  Moody  in  Brooklyn,  a  young 
man  heard  him  explain  the  way  of  salvation.  He  was  not 
i^pecially  affected  by  the  truth,  and  returned  to  his  boarding- 
house  only  to  comment  in  a  critical  and  scofling  spirit.  At  the 
table  he  was  requested  to  give  an  outline  of  the  sermon  ;  and, 
as  he  related  the  points  and  illustrations  of  the  preacher,  a 
young  lady,  who  was  a  silent  listener  to  his  narrative,  was  con- 


THE    WORK   OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  397 

victed  and  led  to  see  the  plan  of  salvation,  and  gave  her  heart 
lo  Christ. 

It  was  a  touching;  request  for  prayers,  that  of  twenty-six 
mothers,  present  at  the  Hippodrome  noon  prayer-meeting,  for 
the  salvation  of  their  unconverted  children.  Twenty-six  mothers' 
hearts  yearning  before  God  for  thp  souls  of  their  children,  and 
more  than  twenty-six  hundred  sympathizing  Christian  hearts, 
uniting  with  them  at  the  throne  of  grace,  for  the  salvation  of 
those  they  loved  and  cherished. 

The  fire  now  kindled  burned  hotter  each  day  and  night.  Five 
distinct  meetings  were  held  at  the  Hippodrome,  the  attendance 
being  largely  increased  over  that  of  the  previous  day.  A  notice- 
able growth  of  interest  was  manifested.  In  addition  to  the 
regular  services  at  noon  and  8  p.  m.,  special  meetings  were 
given  for  women  and  young  men,  and  an  auxiliary  meeting  was 
held  in  the  small  hall  in  the  evening.  Mr.  Moody's  sermon 
was  based  on  the  parable  of  the  three  men  Vv'ith  their  master's 
talents,  and  was  one  of  the  best  he  has  preached  since  he 
returned  from  Europe.  It  made  a  profound  impression  ;  hundreds 
were  in  tears.  The  aggregate  attendance  at  all  the  meetings 
was  about  twenty  thousand,  though  in  many  cases  the  same  per- 
sons were  present  at  several  meetings.  Christian  workers  were 
engaged  until  a  late  hour  with  nearly  two  hundred  interested 
inquirers. 

Mr.  Moody's  manner  was  more  impressive  and  his  address 
even  more  fervent  than  on  any  of  the  previous  evenings.  During 
several  portions  of  it  the  audience  were  moved  to  tears,  and 
throughout  the  entire  sermon  the  deepest  attention  was  paid  to 
every  sentence  uttered.  There  was  apparently  a  much  smaller 
proportion  of  people  who  came  from  curiosity,  than  there  has 
been  since  the  service  began. 

When  Mr.  Moody  had  finished  his  sermon,  ''  I  need  Thee 
every  hour  "  was  sung,  and  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Kennard  and  Dr. 
Armitage  prayed.  Those  who  wished  to  attend  the  meeting  for 
young  men  \\cre  requested  to  retire  to  the  small  hail,  and  such 
as  desired  to  talk  with  Christians  were  asked  to  go  into  the  in- 
quir)'-rooms   between   the  two  halls.     Others  who  chose  to  re- 


39^  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

main  were  invited  to  do  so,  and  while  the  choir  sang  again  "  I 
need  Thee  every  Hour,"  the  audience  became  a  moving  sea  of 
human  beings,  going  in  all  directions.  Some  went  home,  others 
sought  seats  in  the  front  of  the  room,  hundreds  joined  the  meet- 
ng  for  young  men,  and  about  two  hundred  accompanied  Chris- 
tians to  the  inquiry-rooms.  For  those  who  remained  the 
Rev.  Drs.  Ormiston,  and  Paxton  and  William  E.  Dodge  offered 
prayers.  The  inquiry-rooms  were  busy  places.  In  all  parts 
of  them  were  groups  of  two  or  three  persons  earnestly  engaged 
in  conversation  on  religious  topics.  The  success  attained  was 
regarded  as  surprising  at  this  stage  of  the  revival.  Mr.  Moody 
was  greatly  encouraged. 

Mr.  Sankey  came  in.  Before  singing  the  "  Ninety  and  Nine," 
he  said  he  feared  many  were  present  who  came  from  curiosity, 
yet  he  hoped  they  would  go  away  with  a  different  feeling  in  their 
hearts.  Men  could  not  be  saved  in  their  own  way,  he  said,  but 
they  must  come  to  Christ  in  his  way.  They  must  believe  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  go  to  the  blessed  Bible  to  find  out 
the  way.  The  way  of  the  righteous  was  the  only  right  way. 
*'  God  forbid,"  he  said,  ''  that  we  should  lead  any  in  any  other 
way  !  For  years  Jesus  has  been  leading  me  where  I  never  could 
have  gone  myself" 

He  then  sang  the  ''  Ninety  and  Nine,"  and  when  he  had  fin- 
ished the  Rev.  G.  H.  Hepworth  made  an  address,  in  which  he 
urged  his  hearers  to  become  Christians. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  overflow  meeting,  the 
meeting  for  young  men  in  the  smaller  hall  began.  The  ground 
floor  of  the  room  was  filled  and  a  few  seats  in  the  galleries  were 
occupied.  The  meeting  was  opened  at  9:15  by  Mr.  Moody,  who 
announced  the  hymn,  "  Sweet  Hour  of  Prayer." 

A  large  number  of  persons  asked  for  the  prayers  of  Christians 
for  their  relatives  and  friends.  One  spoke  in  behalf  of  his 
brother,  another  for  his  son-in-law,  another  for  three  sons,  an- 
other for  a  backsliding  brother.  The  requests  were  numerous 
and  made  so  rapidly  that  frequently  four  or  five  or  more  persons 
were  speaking  at  the  same  moment.  The  interest  felt  was 
more  intense  than  it  has  been  at  any  time  since  the  revival  be- 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  399 

gan.  Then  a  request  was  made  that  those  who  wished  for  their 
own  salvation,  who  desired  to  become  Christians,  should  rise, 
and  the  request  met  with  many  responses.  Mr.  Moody  ex- 
claimed, "Truly  God  is  here !  "  and  then  said,  "  Let  us  prny." 
His  voice  was  filled  with  emotion  as  he  prayed  ;  his  words 
seemed  almost  broken  as  they  fell  from  his  lips,  and  it  appeared 
that  his  voice  would  fail  him,  as  he  spoke  with  great  feeling  and 
earnestness.  Mr.  Moody  announced  the  54th  hymn,  "Just  as 
I  am,"  and  requested  all  those  who  had  risen  for  prayers  and 
all  those  who  were  anxious  for  the  salvation  of  their  souls  to  go 
into  the  inquiry-rooms,  where  Christian  friends  would  meet  and 
help  them. 

Mr.  Moody,  at  the  close  of  his  address,  said  that  a  young 
men's  meeting  would  be  held  in  the  Fourth  Avenue  hall,  and 
while  the  choir  was  singing  a  hymn,  he  made  his  way  through 
the  passage  connecting  the  halls,  and  appeared  on  the  other 
platform.  He  said  that  when  in  Scotland,  he  was  asked  to  or- 
ganize a  young  men's  meeting.  He  did  so,  first  in  Edinburgh, 
and  afterwards  in  Glasgow,  and  they  were  a  great  succesi. ' 
Eight  different  meetings  were  held  at  the  same  time.  He 
wished  the  people  here  could  only  see  them.  They  did  not 
think  such  a  meeting  would  be  so  successful  in  America,  but 
tried  it  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  a  short  time  they  had  an  average 
of  a  thousand  at  every  meeting.  Now,  said  he,  do  you  want 
^uch  a  thing  .?  Will  you  pray  for  it  and  work  for  it .''  He  called 
for  a  show  of  hands  of  those  who  were  in  favor  of  its  being  or- 
ganized, and  was  greatly  pleased  at  the  number  held  up.  All 
who  had  any  relatives  or  friends  that  they  wished  to  have  prayed 
for  were  called  upon  to  make  their  requests  known. 

Four  years  ago  a  young  man — a  very  wayward  son,  given  to 
drink  and  sin,  long  prayed  for  by  a  Christian  father — was  sent 
out  to  sea,  that  he  might  escape  the  temptations  he  could  not 
resist.  Now  he  has  come  back  again,  his  heart  unchanged, 
until,  in  God's  piovidence,  he  sauntered  into  the  Hippodrome, 
and  there  the  Lord  met  him  and  touched  his  heart,  and  his 
friends  are  praying  that  the  work  may  be  finished,  and  are  fully 
expecting  to  see  the  penitent  saved. 


400  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Then  came  the  case  of  a  drunkard  awakened  under  the 
preaching  in  the  Brooklyn  Rink  meetings  last  fall.  The  man 
seemed  very  much  in  earnest  at  the  time,  but  though  deeply 
impressed,  he  did  not  take  hold  of  Christ ;  and  though  kept  from 
drink  for  months,  he  yielded  once  more  to  the  temptation  of 
the  cup  and  became  intoxicated.  Half-way  salvation  is  no 
salvation. 

"Almost  will  not  avail, 
Almost  is  sure  to  fail ; 
Sad,  sad  that  bitter  wail : 
Almost,  but  lost !  " 

Worldly  questions  and  replies. 

A  contemporary  presents  a  question  in  connection  with  the 
revival  movement  of  Moody  and  Sankey  that  is  not  without 
interest.  It  asks  whether  the  marvellous  results  that  have 
been  achieved  by  the  evangelists,  so  far  as  crowds  and  manifest- 
ations of  emotions  are  concerned,  leave  any  permanent  result 
in  the  moral  culture  of  the  people.  Do  those  who,  under  the 
nervous  preaching  of  Moody  and  the  sweet  singing  of  Sankey, 
feel  that  they  are  called  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  lead  a  better  life, 
go  out  into  the  world  strengthened  for  its  duties  and  tempta- 
tions ?  Do  they  become  better  Christians,  better  citizens,  bet- 
ter fitted  for  daily  cares  and  struggles?  Do  they  have  a  higher 
sense  of  what  they  owe  to  the  State  and  to  one  another.'*  Docs 
the  singing  of  a  hymn  or  the  application  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
bring  about  suddenly  that  elevation  and  reformation  of  the  soul 
necessary  to  the  development  of  our  moral  nature?  Is  reli- 
gion a  sudden  influence  that  comes  like  a  stroke  of  lightning,  or 
is  it  v/hat  the  poets  te'l  us  about  falling  in  love  at  sight?  One 
newspaper  claims  to  have  information  to  the  effect  that  the 
revival  in  Philadelphia  has  not  been  lasting  ;  that  there  are  no 
evidences  of  a  general  reformation  in  morals.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  find  in  the  same  journal  a  news  paragraph  to 
the  effect  that  six  or  seven  thousanil  of  those  who  had  been  con- 
verted in  Glasgow  by  the  revivalists  have  remained  true  to 
\he  faith. 


THE    WORK.    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  401 

We  have  never  believed  that  men  L\\\  into  religion  at  the  first 
blush  ;  that  the  true  development  of  a  moral  life  comes  in  an 
hour;  that  a  soul  can  really  be  saved  by  a  song  or  a  sermon. 
So  many  conditions  enter  into  such  a  life  that  it  must  come 
like  all  other  growths,  by  development.  This  is  at  the  basis  of 
our  whole  Christian  life,  of  all  that  is  taught  by  Protestant  and 
Catholic.  The  influences  of  Moody  and  Sankey  are  apt  to  be 
ephemeral.  A  hearer  may  receive  a  noble  influence  which 
leads  to  better  thoughts  and  a  purer  life.  One  who  has  lived 
for  years  in  the  contemplation  of  worldly  things,  who  has  given 
to  the  devil  and  his  works  the  time  and  energy  that  would  have 
made  him  a  much  better  citizen,  may  have  suddenly  called  to 
his  mind  the  memories  of  a  childhood  of  faith,  of  a  mother's 
prayers,  awakening  in  his  mind  all  the  latent  religious  feeling, 
for.  there  are  tens  of  thousands  with  a  deep  and  truly  reverent 
nature  whose  lives  are  in  themselves  a  religion  and  who  never 
go  within  a  church.  These  are  among  those  who  may  be 
reached  by  the  teaching  of  the  evangelists.  It  is  in  that  direc- 
tion, if  at  all,  the  true  extent  of  the  work  will  be  done. 

More  than  all,  there  are  many  who  may  receive  from  the 
preaching  of  the  evangelists  what  the  Scriptures  call  the  word 
of  quickening— the  lighting  of  the  torch  which  may,  if  duly 
nursed,  burn  into  the  flame.  If  the  depths  of  society  can  be 
stirred  up;  if  the  poor  and  forlorn,  the  wretched  and  the  sinful, 
can  only  be  turned  from  intemperance  and  lust  and  hypocrisy 
and  false  pretence;  if  they  can  be  taught  the  purer  blessings  of 
a  tranquil  honest  life,  even  when  compared  with  all  the  pomp 
and  success  of  the  world,  then  we  shall  feel  the  true  spirit  of  a 
revival.  Certainly  the  evangelists  are  men  who  believe  in  their 
work.  We  are  told  they  live  by  faith  in  deed  as  well  as  in 
word  ;  that  neither  Moody  nor  Sankey  accept  a  penny  for  their 
labors  ;  that  they  have  no  interest  in  the  sale  of  the  books  and 
pictures  which  have  had  such  an  enormous  circulation.  They 
do  not  raise  collections.  Tiiey  have  no  means.  They  trust  to 
the  Lord  for  their  daily  bread,  and  we  are  told  that  it  always 
comes — sometimes  in  one  form  and  sometimes  in  another — 
but  never  by  begging  or  borrowing  or  by  direct  payments  or  by 


402  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

any  business  interest  in  any  enterprise.  They  trust  in  the  Lord 
who  fed  the  ravens.  They  make  no  plans  ahead.  They  go 
from  place  to  place  as  they  are  "  called  by  the  Holy  Spirit,"  and 
take  no  care  for  the  future.  Altogether,  the  whole  movement  is 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  in  modern  times,  and  worthy  of 
interest  and  study.     As  to  the  results,  the  future  must  tell. 

It  is  interesting  in  further  reply  to  the  anxiousness  about 
results  which  is  so  frequently  displayed  to  see  that  :  The  Rev. 
W.  O.  Simpson,  of  Derby,  stated  in  a  recent  address,  as  reported 
in  the  London  Christian^  as  to  the  fruits  of  the  Moody  and 
Sankey  meetings,  "  that  he  had  carefully  looked  over  the  reports 
of  the  churches,  and  found  that  there  was  not  a  church  which 
did  not  acknowledge  an  increase  of  membership  and  spiritual 
life  as  the  result." 

Growing   Interest. 

The  special  services  for  young  men,  for  women,  and  for 
prayer  in  the  large  hall,  were  all  attended  by  several  thousands. 
The  multitudes  who  came  out  in  the  unfavorable  weather  and 
the  words  of  all  who  spoke  and  prayed,  indicated  a  very  healthy 
growth  of  religious  fervor.  The  inquiry  rooms  were  thronged 
with  w^orkers  and  those  who  were  anxious  for  salvation. 

Mr.  Moody  read  from  Corinthians  xiii.,  always  substituting 
the  word  "  love  "  for  ^'charity."  In  the  vast  congregation  there 
were  many  persons  deeply  moved  by  his  sermon.  It  was  not 
his  forcible  utterances,  nor  his  impressive  language  that  wrought 
the  effect,  for  he  has  seldom  spoken  in  more  moderate  tones 
and  with  fewer  gestures.  The  sermon  was  very  largely  com- 
posed of  anecdotes  of  a  very  pathetic  nature.  The  preacher 
drew  tears  from  hundreds  of  eyes.  Old  and  young  men,  as 
well  as  wives  and  mothers,  were  deeply  moved  by  his  stories 
of  children  who  had  taught  older  people  to  have  greater 
love  and  sympathy.  He  said,  "  We  little  know  how  much  may 
be  won  by  a  smile.  If  weVe  going  to  reach  the  world  we  must 
get  the  wrinkles  out  of  our  brows.  '  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  He  gave  his  only  begotten  Son  ' — that's  the  Gospel."  Mr. 
Moody's  stories  were  all  told  with  much  feeling.     Although  the 


THE    WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  403 

evangelist  has  probably  related  them  twenty  times  or  more,  he 
has  lost  none  of  his  pathos  and  sympathy.  Sometimes  he 
preaches  the  same  sermon  twice  in  the  same  evening  to  separate 
audiences,  and  the  second  effort  is  usually  more  earnest  than 
the  first.  His  prayer  at  the  young  men's  meeting  last  evenirg 
was  much  more  fervent  than  that  in  the  larger  hall,  and  yet  his 
audience  in  the  latter  case  was  three  or  four  times  as  large  as 
in  the  former.  He  seems  thoroughly  satisfied  that  the  work  in 
New- York  will  be  a  deep  one.  He  said :  ''  I  believe  in  my 
soul  we  are  going  to  see  the  greatest  work  in  New  York  that 
we  have  seen  in  this  country.  I  feel  that  there  is  a  mighty 
power  at  work  in  these  meetings." 

Some  one  says  :  Mr.  Moody's  practice  is  to  give  theology  in 
very  small  doses  and  religion  in  as  large  quantities  as  the  patient 
can  bear.  He  hits  the  sinner  a  blow  with  the  brawny  arm  of  a 
blacksmith^  and  then,  when  the  poor  fellow  is  perfectly  convinced 
that  he  is  going  to  perdition,  he  takes  him  by  the  hand  with 
something  like  a  woman's  tenderness  and  starts  him  on  the  road 
to  heaven  to  the  music  of"  Glory,  Hallelujah." 

"  Christ  didn't  come  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save  them. 
.  .  .  There's  one  mountain  peak  that  the  wrath  of  God  has 
swept  over,  and  that  is  the  Mount  of  Calvary."  Mr.  Moody's 
faith  is  almost  childlike  in  its  simplicity,  although  it  has  the 
strength  of  manhood.  He  has  no  creed  or  ritual  of  his  own, 
and  accepts  no  system  but  that  which  the  plain  elements  of  the 
Christian  religion  themselves  construct.  He  thoroughly  believes 
that  God  created  the  w^orld  and  governs  it,  that  Christ  was  sent 
to  redeem  man  from  his  sins,  and  that  through  Him  is  the  only 
way  by  which  the  world  can  be  saved.  He  hardly  goes  beyond 
this.  With  his  faith  profoundly  fixed  in  his  heart,  and  growing 
stronger  with  his  experience,  Mr.  Moody  joins  a  genuine  love 
of  his  race,  which  makes  him  always  prompt  in  rejoicing  with 
those  \Yho  are  happy  in  their  religion,  or  in  giving  syjnpathy  to 
such  as  have  not  found  the  Way  of  Life  Moreover,  he  pos- 
sesses a  mind  which  never  tires  in  its  activity  to  convert  sinners, 
and  an  energy  and  enthusiasm  which  become  more  earnest  and 
intense  every  year.     There  is  no  sect  which  he  does  not  welcome 


404  MOODY    AND    SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

to  his  meetings.  An  Episcopalian  or  a  Methodist,  a  Baptist  or 
a  Presbyterian,  or  Congregationalist,  are  alike  received  as 
brothers.  He  finds  Christian  truth  in  them  all,  and  recognizes 
that  each  denomination,  in  its  own  way,  has  helped  to  make  the 
world  better.  "  Any  church,"  he  says,  *'  which  preaches  Christ 
is  doing  God's  service  on  the  earth." 

Mr.-  Moody  is  not  a  theologian.  His  Bible,  an  index  of  sub 
jects,  Cruden's  Concordance,  and  a  few  commentaries,  comprise 
his  text-books.  The  Sunday-school  and*  home  missionary  field 
have  been  his  theological  seminary.  The  history  of  the  Church 
since  the  time  of  the  Apostles  seems  to  have  little  interest  for 
him.  He  apparently  knows  scarcely  anything  of  its  ancient 
strifes.  The  wars  of  sects  and  the  claims  of  different  denomi- 
nations he  does  not  give  the  least  evidence  of  knowing  much 
about.  He  never  refers  to  any  of  the  great  controversies  of  the 
Church,  more  than  to  mention  Luther,  Knox,  Whitetield,  and 
Wesley,  as  examples  of  what  Christians  may  do  if  thoroughly 
consecrated  to  religious  work. 

The  meeting  at  three  o'clock,  and  the  one  held  in  the  evening, 
were  both  impressive  and  suggestive  at  this  stage  of  the  revival. 
In  the  afternoon  no  one  was  admitted  but  ladies,  except  the 
male  members  of  the  choir,  a  few  reporters  and  the  usual  de- 
tail of  policemen.  The  audience  was  such  an  one  as  New  York 
has  probably  never  seen  before.  Between  six  and  seven  thousand 
women  were  seated  in  one  room,  every  grade  of  society  being 
represented,  and  forming  a  congregation  to  be  seen  few  times 
in  the  course  of  a  life.  And  this  vast  number  was  one  of  the 
best  evidences  yet  furnished  of  the  depth  of  interest  in  the  re- 
vival movement.  But  a  scene  even  more  significant  than  this 
was  to  be  found  at  the  evening  services.  None  but  men  were 
admitted,  and  not  only  were  all  of  the  seven  thousand  seats  in 
the  large  hall  taken,  but  four  thousand  men  composed  a  second 
audience  in  the  smaller  room. 

While  he  was  speaking  the  rain  began  to  fall  upon  the  rocf, 
and  attracted  some  attention.  He  cried  out :  "  O,  may  God 
rain  down  the  blessings  of  Heaven  here  to-night,  and  may  it 
come  to  your  thirsty  souls  as  it  now  comes  to  the  thirsty  earth." 


THE    WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  405 

He  preached  the  same  sermon  afternoon  and  night,  and 
spoke  of 

Forgiveness  and  eternal  life. 

O,  the  blessed  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  what  can  we  do 
without  it  ?  When  we  lay  our  little  children  away  in  death  they 
shall  rise  again.  I  was  going  into  a  cemetery  once,  and  over 
the  entrance  I  saw  these  words:  "They  shall  rise  again."  In- 
fidelity didn't  teach  that ;  we  got  that  from  this  book.  O,  the 
blessed  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God  !  How  every  one  of  you 
ought  to  believe  it !  Young  lady,  if  you  have  been  careless  up 
to  this  afternoon,  O,  may  you  get  awake.  May  you  this  hour 
not  hesitate  to  turn  from  your  sins  unto  God  and  believe  the 
gospel  of  His  son.  I  used  to  be  a  good  deal  troubled  with  my 
sins,  and  I  thought  of  the  day  of  judgment,  when  all  the  sins 
that  I  had  committed  in  secret  should  blaze  out  before  the 
assembled  universe.  But  when  a  man  comes  to  Christ  the  Gos- 
pel tells  him  they  are  all  gone,  and  in  Jesus  Christ  he  is  a  new 
creature.  All  I  know  is  that  out  of  the  love  which  my  Lord  has 
for  me  He  has  taken  all  my  sins  and  cast  them  behind  his  back. 
That  is  behind  God's  back.  How  is  Satan  to  get  at  it  ?  If 
God  has  forgiven  our  sins,  they  won't  be  mentioned.  In  Ezekiel 
we  are  told  not  one  of  them  shall  be  mentioned.  Isn't  it  a 
glorious  thing  to  have  all  our  sins  blotted  out  ?  And  there  is 
another  thought,  and  that  is  the  Judgment.  You  know  if  a 
man  has  committed  some  great  crime,  when  he  is  brought  into 
judgment  how  he  dreads  it !  How  he  dreads  that  day  when  he 
is  brought  into  court,  when  he  is  put  into  a  box  and  witnesses 
are  to  come  up  and  testify  against  him,  and  he  is  to  be  judged ! 
But,  my  friends,  the  Gospel  tells  us  that  if  we  come  to  Christ, 
we  shall  never  come  into  judgment.  Why }  Because  Christ 
was  judged  for  us.  He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions. 
If  he  has  been  wounded  for  us,  we  haven't  got  to  be  wounded. 
*'  Verily,  verily," — which  means  truly,  truly — "  I  say  unto  you  " 
— now  just  put  your  name  in  there — '*  He  that  heareth  my 
words,  and  believeth  on  Him  that  sent  me,  hath  " — h-a-t-h,  hath. 
It  don't  say  you  shall  have  when  you  die.     It  says,  hath — "  He 


406  MOODY    ADD    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA 

that  heareth  my  words  and  believeth  on  Him  that  sent  me  halh 
everlastin;^  life,  and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation."  That 
means  into  judgment.  He  shan't  come  into  judgment,  but  is 
passed  "from  death  unto  life."  There  is  judgment  out  of  the 
way.  He  shall  never  come  into  judgment.  Why  ?  Because 
God  has  forgiven  us  and  given  us  eternal  life.  That  is  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Ought  people  to  be  gloomy  and  put 
on  long  faces  when  that  is  the  news .'' 

Away  out  on  the  frontier  of  our  country,  out  on  the  prairies, 
where  men  sometimes  go  to  hunt  or  for  other  purposes,  the  grass 
in  the  dry  season  sometimes  catches  fire,  and  you  will  see  the 
flames  uprise  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high,  and  you  will  see  those 
flames  rolling  over  the  Western  desert  faster  than  any  fleet  horse 
can  run.  Now  what  do  the  men  do  ?  They  know  it  is  sure 
death  unless  they  can  make  some  escape.  They  would  try  to 
run  avYay  perhaps,  if  they  had  fleet  horses.  But  they  can't,  that 
fire  goes  faster  than  the  fleetest  horse  can  run.  What  do  they 
do  }  Why,  they  just  take  a  match  and  they  light  the  grass  from 
it,  and  away  it  burns,  and  then  they  get  into  that  burnt  district. 
The  fire  comes  on,  and  there  they  stand  perfectly  secure.  There 
they  stand  perfectly  secure — nothing  to  fear.  Why.''  Because 
the  fire  has  burned  all  there  is  to  burn.  Take  your  stand  there 
on  Mount  Calvary.  The  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  to  whosoever 
will  come.  I  ihank  God  that  I  can  come  to  this  city  of  New 
York  with  a  Gospel  that  is  free  to  all.  It  is  free  to  the  most 
al)andoned.  Still  it  may  be  there  are  some  wives  who  have  got 
discouraged  and  disheartened.  I  can  tell  you  the  joyful  news 
that  your  husbands  and  your  sons  have  not  gone  so  far  but  that 
the  grace  of  God  can  save  them.  The  Son  of  God  came  to  raise 
up  the  most  abandoned.  I  noticed  on  my  way  down  this  morn- 
ing not  less  than  four  or  five  tramps.  They  looked  weary  and 
tired.  I  supposed  they  had  slept  on  the  sidewalk  last  night.  I 
thought  I  would  like  to  have  time  just  to  stop  and  tell  them 
about  the  Son  of  God,  and  how  Christ  loved  them.  The  Gospel 
of  the  Son  of  God  is  to  tell  us  how  he  loves  us.  He  takes  our 
feet  out  of  the  pit  and  he  puts  our  feet  on  the  Rock  of  Ages. 
And  that,  my  dear  friends,  is  what  Christ   wants  us  to  do,  and 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  407 

don't  ihink  that  there  isn't  some  one  in  your  homes  but  that  he 
wants  to  save.  Tell  them  that  there  is  none  too  abandoned, 
none  so  j-oung,  none  so  fallen,  but  that  God  can  save  them. 
There  was  William  Dorset,  and  the  power  of  the  Lord  was  upon 
him.  and  in  closing  his  meeting  one  night  he  said  there  wasn't 
a  man  in  London  so  far  gone  but  that  the  Lord  could  save  him. 
There  was  Whitefield,  and  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  upon  him, 
and  he  said,  "  God  is  so  anxious  to  save  souls  that  he  will  take 
the  devil's  castaway."  Whitefield  said  that  the  Lord  would 
take  the  devil's  castaway.  Dorset  said  that  there  was  no  man 
in  London  so  far  gone  but  that  the  Lord  would  save  him. 
There  was  a  lady  missionary  whom  I  knew,  who  found  a  man 
who  said  there  was  no  hope  for  him  ;  he  had  sent  away  his  day 
of  grace.  She  went  to  Mr.  Dorset  and  said  to  him,  ^'  Mr.  Dor- 
set, will  you  go  down  and  see  him  and  tell  him  what  you  said  ^ " 
Mr.  Dorset  said  he  would  be  glad  to  go  and  see  him.  He  went 
up  into  a  five-story  house,  and  away  up  in  the  garret  he  found  a 
young  man  lying  upon  some  straw.  He  bent  over  him  and 
whispered  into  his  ear  and  called  him  his  friend.  The  young 
man  looked  startled.  He  says,  "  You  are  mistaken  in  the  per- 
son wiien  you  say,  '  My  friend.'  I  have  no  friends.  No  one 
cares  for  me."  Mr.  Dorset  told  him  that  Christ  was  as  much 
his  friend  as  of  any  man  in  London.  Poor  prodigal !  And 
after  he  had  talked  with  him  for  some  time,  he  prayed  with  him 
and  then  he  read  to  him  out  of  the  Bible,  and  at  last  the  light  of 
the  gospel  began  to  break  in  upon  that  darkened  heart.  This 
young  man  said  to  Mr.  Dorset  he  thought  he  could  die  happy 
if  he  knew  his  father  was  willing  to  forgive  him.  Mr.  Dorset 
said  to  him,  "  Where  does  your  father  live  }  "  The  young  man 
said  he  lived  in  the  West  End  of  London.  Mr.  Dorset  said,  '•  I 
will  go  and  see  him  and  see  if  he  won't  forgive  you."  But  the 
young  man  said,  *'  No,  I  don't  want  to  have  you  do  that.  My 
father  would  abuse  you  if  you  should  speak  to  him  about  me. 
He  don  t  recognize  me  as  his  boy  any  more."  Mr.  Dorset  said, 
"  I  will  go  and  see  him."  He  went  up  to  the  W^est  End  of  Lan- 
don,  wh'jre  he  found  a  very  fine  mansion,  and  a  servant  dressed 
in  livery  came  to  the  door,  and  he  was  ushered  into  the  drawing- 


4o8  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

room  and  presently  the  father,  a  bright,  majestic  looking  man, 
came  into  the  room.  Mr.  Dorset  held  out  his  hand  to  shake 
hands  with  him,  and  said,  "You  have  a  son  by  the  name  of 
Joseph,  have  you  not?"  And  when  the  father  heard  that,  he 
refused  to  shake  hands  with  him,  and  wasgoing  outof  the  room. 
The  father  said,  "If  you  have  come  up  here  to  talk  about  that 
worthless  vagabond,  I  want  you  to  leave  the  house.  He  is  no 
son  of  mine."  Mr.  Dorset  said,  "He  is  yours  now,  but  he 
won't  be  long  ;  but  he  is  yours  now."  "  Is  Joseph  sick  ?  "  said 
the  man.  "Yes,"  said  Mr.  Dorset,  "he  is  dying.  I  haven't 
come  for  money.  I  will  see  that  he  has  a  decent  burial.  I 
have  only  come  to  ask  you  to  forgive  him."  "Forgive  him  ! 
forgive  him  ! "  said  the  father,  "  I  would  have  forgiven  him  long 
ago  if  I  thought  he  wanted  me  to.  Do  you  know  where  he  is.-* " 
"  Yes,  sir,  he  is  in  the  East  End  of  London."  Can  you  take  me 
to  him  ?"  "Yes,  sir,  I  will  take  you  to  him."  And  the  father 
ordered  out  his  carriage,  and  he  was  on  his  way.  When  we  got 
there  he  said,  "  Did  you  find  my  boy  here  .?  Oh,  if  I  had  known 
he  wanted  me  to,  I  would  have  taken  him  home  long  ago." 
When  the  father  went  into  that  room  he  could  hardly  recognize 
his  long  lost  boy.  The  father  went  over  and  kissed  the  boy, 
and  the  father  says  to  him,  "I  would  have  forgiven  you  long, 
long  ago,  if  I  had  known  you  wanted  me  to.  Let  my  servant 
order  the  carriage  and  take  you  home,"  but  the  boy  said,  "  No, 
father,  I  am  dying  ;  but  I  can  die  now  happy  in  this  garret,  that 
I  know  you  are  willing  to  forgive  me."  And  he  told  his  father 
how  Jesus  had  received  him,  and  in  a  little  while  he  breathed 
his  last,  and  out  of  that  dark  garret  he  rose  up  into  the  kingdom 
of  God.  Oh,  my  friends,  there  may  be  some  one  in  New  York 
who  would  rejoice  to  hear  such  words.  Oh,  here  is  a  Christian, 
shall  he  not  publish  it?  And  you  that  are  not  Christians, 
won't  you  come  into  the  Kingdom  ?  Oh,  that  to-day  you  may 
receive  Christ,  is  the  prayer  I  believe  of  the  hundreds  that  are 
gathered  here. 

When  tlic  sermon  iiad  been  concluded  a  few  moments  were 
given  to  silent  prayer,  and  after  that  a  large  number  arose  for 
prayers.     While  the  hymns  "  Almost  Persuaded  "  and  "  Just  as 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  409 

I  am  "  were  sung,  those  who  desired  to  converse  on  religious 
subjects,  were  requested  to  go  into  the  inquiry  rooms.  About 
two  hundred  did  so,  and  Mr.  Moody  and  several  Christian 
workers  hibored  with  them  until  late  in  the  afternoon. 

One  of  the  committee  said  the  results  of  these  labors  were 
"perfectly  marvellous." 

Opposition. 

The  sources  of  antagonism  to  the  work  were  strangely  diverse, 
as  is  revealed  by  the  following  editorial  comments  on  reports 
concerning  the  safety  of  the  Hippodrome  : 

Nothing  must  be  left  undone  by  the  committee  having  the 
building  in  charge  to  render  life  secure  during  this  Moody  and 
Sankey  revival,  and  we  have  faith  that  the  utmost  that  is  possi- 
ble will  be  done  to  accomplish  this  end.  Especially  would  we 
wish  to  guard  against  any  unnecessary  alarm.  The  work  in 
which  these  evangelists,  so  called,  are  engaged  is  only  too  likely 
to  provoke  opposition.  Their  meetings  attract  multitudes  from 
the  theatres  and  other  places  of  public  amusement,  and  interfere 
sadly  with  bier  halles  and  such  places  of  resort.  It  is  but  nat- 
ural that  a  strong  interest  should  wish  this  counter  attraction 
removed,  and  endeavor  to  exaggerate  any  suggestion  of  danger 
to  the  detriment  of  Moody  and  Sankey's  work.  With  any  such 
movement  we  have  no  sympathy. 

Antagonism  early  appeared  in  the  contrary  direction,  as  is 
shown  by  a  digest  of  Rev.  O.  B.  Frothingham's  sermon  on  the 
Revivalists'  Aim. 

Although  sympathizing  with  the  aim  of  the  evangelists  he  said 
he  regretted  that  their  concern  was  not  apparently  with  spiritual 
truths  in  their  grander  representations.  He  thought  that  their 
doctrine  of  God  was  childish,  their  theory  of  Providence  puny, 
their  intelligence  of  Scripture  limited,  and  their  whole  concep- 
tion of  the  universe  that  of  the  nursery.  Even  of  Christ,  he 
remarked,  they  do  not  speak  in  any  large  and  friendly  way. 
Their  Christ  was  not  a  man.  His  courage  was  not  heroic.  He 
was  sent,  He  died  as  a  matter  of  universal  business,  and  the 
18 


410  MOODY   AXD    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

power  of  His  living  dated  from  the  few  moments  when  He  suf- 
fered on  the  cross.  And  that  suffering  was  not  that  men  might 
be  touched  to  the  heart  of  their  manliness  and  toned  to  a  more 
noble  life,  but  that  they  might  be  saved  from  some  unknown 
doom.  If  the  end  at  which  the  evangelists  aimed  were  accom- 
plished, the  world  that  would  satisfy  them  would  be  one  wherein 
civilization  would  be  put  back  in  many  ways.  Certain  impor- 
tant classes  of  literature  and  much  of  art  would  be  eliminated, 
as  under  the  influence  of  Paul's  conversion  pictures  and  books 
were  bought  by  artists  and  authors  and  publicly  cast  upon  the 
flames.  It  would  require  that  men  should  cease  to  study 
science.  To  this  Mr.  Frothingham  would  demur,  believing  that 
civilization  was  good,  and  that  its  progress  depended  upon  wis- 
dom and  culture  and  scientific  investigation,  and  also  upon  the 
avoidance  of  any  exclusive  system  and  of  all  sectarianism.  He 
thought,  however,  that  the  appeal  of  the  evangelists  would 
reach  a  multitude  of  people  not  of  the  cultured  or  enlightened, 
but  the  poor  and  the  ignorant.  If  these  men  had  in  them  the 
capacity  to  reach  the  mass  of  the  people,  just  so  far  as  they  did 
they  would  succeed,  and  so  perform  a  work  for  which  all  lovers 
of  mankind  would  be  grateful. 

This  toploftical  treatment  of  the  matter,  shows  how  extremes 
meet, — the  low  and  the  high  in  rank,  culture  and  vocation, 
alike  seeking  to  hinder  and  discredit  the  work.  But,  in  spite 
of  the  mud  and  rain,  between  eight  thousand  and  ten  thousand 
people  attended  the  meetings  in  the  Hippodrome  on  Monday. 
In  the  evening  Mr.  Moody  continued  his  remarks  on  the  Gos- 
pel of  the  New  Testament.  The  special  services  for  women 
and  for  young  men,  as  well  as  the  meeting  in  the  inquiry  rooms, 
were  largely  attended,  and  gave  evidence  of  a  sustained  interest 
in  the  revival.  Mr.  Sankey  sang  "Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth 
by,"  and  the  vast  room  was  in  breathless  quiet.  When  the 
hymn,  "Jesus  paid  it  all,"  was  given  out,  the  audience  was 
requested  to  rise  and  sing,  and  Mr.  Moody  said,  "  If  you  can't 
sing  as  well  as  the  person  next  to  you,  don't  mind  that.  If 
you  can't  sing  at  all,  just  talk  the  words  out.  It  will  do  you 
good."     With  his  hymn  book  in  his  hand,  he  stotxl  in  the  pul- 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  41 1 

pit  and   sang  heartily,  beating  time  with  the  hand  in  which  he 
held  the  book. 

The  vast  concourse  of  people  who  assemble  nightly  and  daily 
in  the  Hippodrome,  will  probably  be  remembered  by  the  peo- 
ple of  New  York  as  among  the  most  remarkable  demonstrations 
that  the  metropolis  has  ever  seen.  It  is  not  a  usual  privilege 
to  see  people  of  every  class  and  condition  assemble  together 
every  day  for  the  purposes  of  religious  worship  to  the  number 
of  ten  thousand  or  fifteen  thousand.  To  form  an  idea  of  the 
spectacle  which  seven  thousand  people,  who  form  the  largest  of 
the  meetings,  affords  to  the  eye,  one  should  stand  upon  the 
platform  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  from  which  point  a  view  of 
the  entire  "  sea  of  upturned  faces  "  may  be  obtained.  Crowded 
in  every  corner  of  the  auditorium,  the  congregation  rises  on  the 
galleries,  which  reach  around  the  building,  and  extend  far  back 
beneath  the  roof,  until  the  last  lines  are  almost  lost  in  the  dim 
light.  A  quiet,  an  order  prevails  which  would  be  worthy  of 
sitting  statues.  From  the  elevated  pulpit,  erected  at  a  point 
about  thirty  feet  from  the  outermost  limit  of  the  audience,  Mr. 
Moody  speaks.  A  man  not  extraordinary  in  personal  appear- 
ance, far  from  likely  to  impress  a  stranger  with  an  unusual 
degree  of  favor,  every  ear  is  alett  to  hear  him.  He  is  short  of 
stature,  stoutly  built,  inclining  to  obesity,  with  shoulders  slightly 
curving  forward,  short  of  neck,  with  a  round,  pleasant  fice, 
ruddy  with  health,  and  a  long  rich  black  beard.  He  wears  a 
business  suit,  with  a  Prince  Albert  coat  buttoned  at  three 
places.  With  an  abruptness  that  almost  startles  one,  he  speaks, 
and  every  eye  is  his,  and  so  remains  until  he  sits  down,  and 
then,  for  the  first  time,  every  one  moves  in  his  seat  and  a  gen- 
tle rustle  is  heard  for  a  moment. 

This  was  especially  noticeable  last  evening.  The  Hippodrome 
was  crowded  in  both  halls,  and  all  the  standing  room  was  occu- 
pied in  every  part  of  the  building.  Mr.  Moody  continued  his 
remarks  on  the  subject  of  Regeneration,  and  held  the  congre- 
gation in  breathless  quiet.  Mr.  Sankey  sang  "  The  Ninety 
and  Nine,"  and  expressions  of  appreciation  were  very  general. 
Among  the  persons  present  were  Gov.  Tilden,  the  Rev.  Drs, 


412  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Anderson,  Tyng,  and  John  Cotton  Smith,  and  Cyrus  W.  Field, 
Judge  Haines,  of  New  Jersey,  and  John  Lord,  LL.  D.  The 
usual  after-meetings  were  held,  and  almost  the  entire  congrega- 
tion remained.  Hundreds  went  into  the  inquiry-rooms,  and 
Christians  staid  with  them  until  a  late  hour. 

The   Inquiry-Rooms. 

The  scenes  in  the  inquiry-rooms  night  after  night  are  of  the 
most  interesting  character.  At  the  invitations  given  both  in 
\hc  main  and  adjoining  rooms,  those  rising  to  their  feet  and 
those  who  are  searching  for  religious  knowledge  and  the  "peace 
which  the  world  cannot  give  nor  take  away,"  pass  from  the  midst 
of  the  great  audiences  into  the  smaller  rooms  dedicated  to  expo- 
sition and  prayer.  After  the  sermon  of  Mr.  Moody,  he,  with 
other  Christian  workers,  may  be  found  seated  by  the  side  of 
penitents,  instructing  them  and  quietly  praying  for  the  divine 
enlightenment.  A  solemn  quiet  pervades  these  rooms,  broken 
by  the  clear  song  of  some  sweet-voiced  singer,  the  sobs  of  some 
woman,  or  the  prayer  of  a  faithful  disciple.  Here  may  be 
found  all  classes — the  rich,  the  poor,  the  ignorant,  the  educated, 
learned  divines  and  earnest  laymen,  all  on  the  same  level, 
engaged  in  the  same  grand  work.  They  are  in  groups,  scat- 
tered here  and  there,  while  gliding  about  from  group  to  group 
may  be  seen  Mr.  Moody.  Here  are  infidels  who  come  to  scoff 
and  reason,  remaining  to  receive  the  arrows  of  conviction  as 
word  after  word,  not  of  sophistry  but  plain  irrefutably  truth, 
passes  through  the  fervid  spirit  of  some  saint  of  God  into  the 
very  inmost  nature  of  the  one  who  would  have  overthrown  the 
true  and  faithful  Christian  worker.  Certainly  the  work  of  these 
men  and  women  is  not  in  vain  and  the  future  shall  attest  by  its 
glorified  ones,  its  purified,  the  grandeur  of  this  work  which  men, 
without  a  laugh  of  derision  or  scowl  of  malice,  pause  in  the 
midst  of  trade  and  pleasure  to  contemplate  and  admire. 

The  Second  Week,  of  Revival. 

Mr.  Moody  kept  firing  heavy  guns  into  the  immense  masses 
that  gathered  to  be  instructed  and  saved.     The  grandest  truths 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  413 

that  can  engage  human  thought  he  presented  and  enforced  with 
all  the  energy  of  his  powerful  nature,  and  with  simplicity,  direct- 
ness, and  fervor.  He  was  aided  by  a  large  company  of  noble 
men  whose  talks  were  often  eloquent  and  weighty.  We  select 
some  gems  from  these  discourses. 

Rev.  Dr.  S.  H.  Tyng,  Jr.,  said  success  in  intercession  is  one 
of  the  blessings  we  find  in  Christ.  It  has  pleased  the  Father 
that  all  the  fullness  of  justification,  of  strength  and  of  sympathy 
shall  be  found  by  the  believer  in  Christ.  His  success  in  inter- 
cession is  found  in  Christ.  We  see  in  the  ist  Epistle  of  Ephe- 
sians  what  a  multitude  of  things  God  shows  us  to  be  in  Christ. 
When  He  sent  His  Son  into  the  world  he  says :  All  spiritual 
blessings  are  in  Christ  —  acceptance,  remission,  forgiveness,, 
daily  strength,  mercy,  everything  is  for  us  in  Christ.  We  need 
only  to  be  in  Christ  to  have  all  our  needs  fully  supplied,  and 
then  prayer  is  the  speaking  of  a  child  to  a  heavenly  Father. 
Then  prayer  is  almost  soliloquy,  for  in  Christ  we  have  lost  our 
personality  in  whom  we  have  found  our  forgiveness  and  our 
home.  Therefore  when  we  come  to  intercession  let  us  look 
upon  it  as  a  privilege  we  have  as  those  that  are  in  Christ,  and 
there  will  be  no  failure  in  our  intercession  if  it  be  in  the  exalta- 
tion of  Jesus.  In  Christ  we  are  interceding  in  heaven.  It  is 
the  believer's  privilege  to  be  identified  by  faith  with  the  work 
of  Christ,  and  we  can  say,  "He  bore  my  sins  in  His  own  body 
on  the  tree,  and  He  has  admitted  me  into  the  acceptance  of  the 
Father.  He  has  brought  me  nigh  the  Father  in  the  reconcilia- 
tion of  His  love.*'  An  incident  was  told  by  a  doctor  in  Boston, 
of  a  young  man  who  was  brought  into  the  consumptive  hospital 
as  a  patient.  It  was  manifest  the  disease  had  made  great 
progress,  and  his  days  were  numbered.  They  knew  nothing 
about  his  previous  history,  but  that  he  was  a  rough,  bad  man  in 
every  respect.  He  was  put  in  one  of  the  wards,  and  he  was 
very  reticent.  When  any  one  came  near  him  he  expected  to 
be  preaclied  at,  and  he  threw  off  everything  like  Christian  sym- 
pathy. When  the  doctor  came  round  healing  the  body  and  the 
soul,  for  he  unites  the  two  offices,  he  looked  at  this  man  and 
saw  on  his  countenance  that  he  would  reject  spiritual  counsel. 


414  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

He  prescribed  for  his  physical  condition,  and  then  passed  on, 
but  all  of  a  sudden  he  turned  back  and  said :  "  Do  you  love 
Jesus?"  The  man  said  "No."  The  doctor  turned  away,  but 
lurned  back  a  moment  afterward  and  said:  "Jesus  loves  you." 
ICvery  day  for  a  week  he  spoke  to  the  man  in  those  same  words* 
That  was  the  message  to  him,  "  Jesus  loves  you."  One  night 
the  night-bell,  hanging  over  this  poor  sinner's  bed  was  rung 
violently.  The  nurse  asked  what  was  the  matter.  "Oh,"  he 
said,  "  I  cannot  enjoy  it  alone.  I  must  have  somebody  with 
me."  "What  is  the  matter?"  "I  have  just  found  out  that 
Jesus  loves  me."  The  nurse  read  the  Bible  to  him  and  prayed 
that  he  might  grow  in  the  love  of  Jesus.  When  the  doctor 
came  next  morning  he  found  him  in  a  state  of  unconscious  ex- 
haustion. The  nurse  woke  him  up  and  asked  him  if  he  was 
thinking  about  Jesus.  He  folded  his  hands  upon  his  breast 
and  said,  "  When  I  am  conscious  I  am  thinking  about  Jesus, 
but  when  I  am  unconscious  Jesus  is  thinking  about  me."  The 
man  was  in  Christ  in  his  conscious  moments  and  was  full  of 
Christ,  and  in  his  weakness  and  unconsciousness  he  was  sure 
Jesus  was  thinking  about  and  loving  and  caring  for  him. 

Rev.  Dr.  Hepworth  said:  I  am  strongly  moved  at  this  point 
to  utter  a  single  word  to  those  who  feel  they  are  unsaved.  It 
is  terrible  to  think  even  for  a  moment  that  there  is  any  soul  in 
this  vast  congregation  that  will  not  be  gathered  in  at  the  last 
day  to  the  joy  and  love  and  salvation  of  God.  If  there  is  one, 
I  want  to  say  to  that  soul  that  it  will  be  simply  his  own  fault 
and  not  God's.  God  has  done  everything  for  you,  and  up  to 
this  moment  you  have  done  next  to  nothing  for  Him.  I  state 
ihis  as  a  bold  fact,  to  which  in  and  by  your  experience  you  are 
bound  to  gi\e  an  assent. 

Now  this  occasion  seems  to  be  filled  on  one  side  with  an 
expression  of  great  sadness,  and  on  the  other  side  with  an 
expression  of  j^reat  triumph.  1  cannot  look  into  your  faces 
without  readin^^  your  character.  I  cannot  see  those  lines  that 
have  been  furrowed  there,  not  by  time  so  much  as  by  experi- 
ence, without  seeing  away  behind  your  face  the  things  you  have 
been  doing  and  the  thoughts  you  have  been  thinking.     If  all 


THE  WORK  OF  GRACK  IN  NEW  YORK.         4 15 

hearts  could  be  unroofed — if  we  could  look  into  each  other  and 
through  each  other,  and  read  each  other  as  a  book,  it  would  be 
a  dangerous  experiment  to  try.  If  that  power  should  be  given 
to  us  by  tiie  Holy  Spirit  for  an  hour,  you  and  I  would  endeavor 
to  close  our  hearts  like  a  book,  with  a  clasp,  and  keep  them 
shut.  We  do  not  want  people  to  look  into  our  lives.  Some  are 
saying  :  "  If  I  could NDnly  forget  these  things  and  get  rid  of  them. 
If  there  was  only  a  single  chance  for  me  to  start  anew."  That 
is  my  sorrow,  that  there  is  a  man  or  woman  here  down  in  the 
valley  so  far  that  his  heart  is  so  filled  with  despair.  A  drunk- 
ard or  gambler  may  say  :  "  Oh,  religion  will  do  for  almost 
everything,  but  it  will  not  do  for  me  ;  it  is  too  late,"  You  dare 
not  say  that  to  God.  You  may  say  it  to  me  but  not  to  Him. 
The  lost  one  is  the  one  God  wants  most.  The  ninety-nine  are 
saved  ;  it  is  the  hundredth  sheep  God  is  after.  What  a  great 
sorrow  it  is  that  you  are  where  you  are  tied  behind  all  these 
doubts  and  despondencies — tied  hand  and  foot  as  Samson  was 
in  the  olden  days,  by  the  temptations  of  New  York  life. 

Another  word  :  It  is  an  occasion  of  triumph.  God  is  here, 
and  God's  hand  is  not  shortened.  God  is  here,  poor  sinner, 
and  God  wants  you.  Your  mother  does  not  want  you  as  much 
as  He  does.  Your  mother  never  sacrificed  as  much  for  you  as 
your  Saviour.  You  cannot  do  anything  for  Him,  but  how  much 
has  He  done  for  you?  You  cannot  pay  the  debt.  It  is  like 
paying  a  debt  of  a  thousand  dollars  with  a  bushel  of  ashes. 
Yet  in  spite  of  your  unworthiness,  there  stands  the  cross,  and 
you  and  I  can  kneel  at  its  feet  and  leave  our  burdens  there,  and 
we  can  go  out  into  New  York  free  men,  emancipated  by  the 
proclamation  contained  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Do  not 
wait  until  to-morrow.  Do  it  now.  At  an  inquiry-meeting  in 
England  a  long  time  ago,  there  was  a  poor  fellow  went  into  the 
meeting  and  said  to  the  minister,  "  I  want  to  hear  you  talk 
about  religion."  After  an  hour's  conversation  the  minister  said, 
*'  Do  you  see  the  light  ?  "  The  man  said,  "  No,  it  is  dark  as 
pitch."  The  minister  talked  another  hour  ;  it  was  then  eleven 
o'clock  and  he  was  tired.  He  said  to  the  poor  fellow,  "  Now, 
u  you  will   come  tc -morrow,  I    will   finish  the  conversation." 


4l6  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

The  poor  collier  said,  ''It  is  now  or  never.  If  I  don't  get  it 
now  I  never  will.  I  have  a  feeling  in  my  heart  that  I  must  and 
will  have  it,  and  I  am  going  to  get  it."  The  time  passed  on  in 
conversation  until  twelve  o'clock,  and  the  minister  was  pretty 
well  used  up,  but  the  man  had  not  got  the  light.  At  two 
o'clock  the  collier  lifted  up  his  hands  and  said,  "  I  have  got  it, 
the  Lord  has  come  to  me."  The  next  morning  he  went  with  all 
the  hands  into  the  coal-pits,  and  just  as  they  sounded  the  call 
to  dinner  there  was  a  cry  that  there  was  an  accident  ;  one  of 
the  coal-pits  had  fallen  in.  Poor  John  was  under  the  pile,  but 
he  was  not  quite  killed.  The  people  put  their  ears  to  the 
ground  to  see  if  there  was  any  life  in  him,  and  they  called 
"Johnny,  Johnny,"  but  all  they  heard  was,  "Oh,  I  am  so  glad 
I  did  not  put  it  off."  That  was  the  last  they  heard.  The  man 
was  saved.     Go  thou  and  do  likewise. 

Rev.  John  Hall,  D.  D.,  read  a  portion  of  Scripture  from  the 
fortieth  Psalm,  commenting  upon  it  as  he  read.  He  said  :  One 
would  infer  that  the  case  of  David  was  a  very  bad  one,  and  he 
had  recourse  to  the  Lord  in  his  trouble.  He  waited  upon  the 
Lord.  He  was  not  content  with  a  chance  ejaculation — a  peti- 
tion now  and  then.  He  waited  patiently  upon  the  Lord.  It 
was  earnest,  continuous,  believing  prayer  which  he  offered. 
He  had  it  to  himself.  He  waited  upon  the  Lord.  You  must 
tell  those  persons  that  ask  our  prayers  that  we  cannot  make  our 
prayers  here  a  substitute  for  their  dealing  directly  with  the 
Lord.  They  must  go  to  Him  and  tell  Him  their  wants.  It  is 
their  duty,  each  of  them  personally,  to  go  and  have  dealings 
with  the  Almighty.  The  Psalmist  says:  "I  waited  patiently 
for  the  I^rd  and  He  inclined  unto  me,  and  heard  my  cry."  It 
is  a  comparatively  easy  thing  to  feel  some  emotion  when  there 
arc  a  thousand  people  around  us  feeling  in  the  same  way  ;  but 
let  us  bear  in  mind  what  we  individually  and  severally  feel 
alone  with  God.  That  is  the  true  measure  of  our  power  in 
prayer.  That  is  the  true  measure  of  the  earnestness  of  our 
heaJts  before  Him.  "  He  inclined  unto  me  and  heard  my  cry." 
He  was  not  waiting  to  be  moved.  He  is  ready  to  act  all  the 
time,  but  it  would  not  be  for  His  glory,  and  it  would  not  be  for 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  417 

our  good  for  Him  to  act  until  we  showed  our  appreciation  of 
the  blessing  by  patiently  waiting  for  Him.  Look  at  the  con- 
dition the  suppliant  was  in  :  "  He  brought  me  out  of  an  horri- 
ble pit,  and  out  of  the  miry  clay."  The  horrible  pit,  like  that  in 
which  the  drunkard  is,  like  that  in  which  the  young  man  is  who 
spent  yesterday  where  he  dare  not  tell  his  mother  or  sister ; 
like  that  in  which  the  dishonest  man  is  who  is  entangled  in  his 
own  frauds  and  is  not  able  to  see  where  he  can  begin  to  be  an 
honest  man  ;  like  that  in  which  those  members  of  our  churches 
are  who  have  never  carried  their  sins  to  the  foot  of  the  cross. 
If  any  of  you  have  tried  to  walk  through  a  morass  and  tried  to 
get  out  of  it  by  putting  forth  all  your  strength,  you  have  found 
that  the  more  energy  you  put  forth  to  get  hastily  away  the 
deeper  you  sink  in  it.  So  with  sinners.  When  they  make  the 
most  desperate  efforts  to  clear  themselves,  the  more  they  get 
involved.  The  way  to  get  out  of  the  miry  clay  and  horrible  pit 
is  to  cry  to  God.  .  Stop  striving  and  stop  working,  and  let  the 
Lord  save  you,  and  then  He  has  the  glory.  "  He  brought  me 
out."  It  is  well  for  ministers  to  preach  and  evangelists  to  labor 
and  Sunday-school  teachers  to  teach,  but  it  is  God  that  does 
the  work.  He  brought  me  out,  and  to  Him  is  the  glory.  He 
does  the  work  well.  He  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock,  and  estab- 
lished my  goings.  We  know  our  Rock  is  perfect.  One  foun- 
dation is  laid  for  us  and  that  is  Jesus  Christ.  A  sinner  is  only 
safe  out  of  the  horrible  pit  and  miry  clay  when  his  feet  are  on 
that  Rock,  and  when  God  establishes  his  goings.  When  you 
go  to  the  Lord  for  strength  the  Lord  will  guide  you  ;  you  will 
see  in  what  way  the  Lord  will  have  you  walk,  and  your  goings 
will  be  established.  We  have  a  great  many  people  who  go 
wavering,  doubtful  and  uncertain.  They  come  to  Christ  to-day 
and  go  to  the  world  to-morrow,  come  to  God  to-day  and  to  his 
foes  to  morrow.  They  are,  as  we  say  in  common  talk,  shilly- 
shallying. That  is  not  the  type  of  a  Christian  God  wants. 
God  wants  a  man  to  declare  plainly  that  he  is  seeking  a  city 
that  is  to  come,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.  Mark  what 
follows  this  prayer — the  answer:  "He  hath  put  a  new  song  in 
my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our  God."     If  God,  in  answer  to 


4l8  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

your  prayer,  has  put  a  new  song  in  your  mouth,  sing  it,  as  God 
wants  you  to  sing  it,  in  your  own  way.  The  father  to  his  chil 
(Iron,  the  husband  to  his  wife,  the  master  to  his  men  in  his 
oflice  or  his  shop,  the  minister  to  his  people,  the  Sunday-school 
teacher  to  his  class.  Let  God  put  a  song  in  your  mouth.  Do 
not  talk  about  your  experience.  Do  not  talk  behind  your  ex- 
perience. Say  what  you  feel.  Say  what  is  true  to  you,  but  do 
not  go  an  inch  beyond  it,  for  when  you  do,  you  defile  your  own 
conscience,  and  all  the  bad  effects  of  untruthfulness  come  back 
upon  you.  Let  God  put  the  song  in  your  mouth,  and  when  you 
sing  it,  many  shall  hear  it  and  trust  in  the  Lord.  We  ought  to 
know  the  truth  and  be  able  to  tell  it.  I  can  bring  to  my  mind 
a  vivid  picture  of  earnestness  in  the  case  of  a  dying  lady  in 
this  city  who  sent  for  me  between  the  two  services  on  Sunday. 
I  found  her  in  her  house  looking  as  white  as  the  sheets  of  her 
bed.  I  never  will  forget  her  earnestness  as  she  said  :  "  I  have 
only  half  an  hour  to  live.  Tell  me  in  the  shortest  words  you 
can  how  I  can  be  saved."  Thank  God,  the  words  are  short: 
•'  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.*' 

Mr.  Moody  said  :  We  have  not  come  here  to  talk  about  the 
evil  of  intemperance,  but  we  have  come  here  to  tell  those  that 
may  be  slaves  to  strong  drink  that  there  is  one  who  is  able  to 
save  them,  and  we  have  come  to  pray  to  God  that  they  may  be 
delivered.  I  seldom  meet  a  drunkard  but  wants  to  get  free 
from  the  vice  and  habit  of  using  strong  drink.  It  is  very  en- 
couraging to  come  here  and  say  the  grace  of  God  is  able  to  save 
every  drunkard  in  New  York  city.  We  have  some  persons  in 
the  hospitals  for  incurable  diseases,  but  when  it  comes  to  the 
soul  we  do  not  need  any  hospital  for  any  incurable  case.  The 
Ix)rd  Jfsus  Christ  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost.  Christ  in 
able  to  snap  fetters  that  bind  every  victim  of  lust,  let  the  sin 
be  what  it  will.  In  the  fifth  chapter  of  Ma  k  we  find  recorded 
the  case  of  a  man  with  an  unclean  spirit  whom  no  man  could 
bind.  We  find  that  men  had  tried  in  every  way  to  help  this 
poor  fellow,  and  failed.  It  is  said  no  man  could  bind  him. 
••Neither  could  any  man  tame  him."  I  suppose  he  was  the 
terror  of  that  whole  region.     If  he  had  a  family,  how  they  must 


THE    WORK    OF    (IRACE    IN    NEW    VORK.  419 

have  been  afraid  of  him  !  They  could  not  tame  him  or  even 
keep  clothes  on  him.  It  is  the  most  hopeless  case  in  Scripture, 
but  Christ  had  but  to  speak  the  word  and  he  was  in  his  right 
mind.  It  is  said  he  had  his  dwelling  among  the  tombs.  That 
is  where  every  poor  sinner  is  ;  he  is  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins.  It  is  easy  for  Christ  to  save  our  friends  who  are  addicted 
to  strong  drink.  Many  a  drunkard  is  saved  by  the  power  of 
God,  not  by  forming  resolutions,  because  their  appetite  is 
stronger  than  their  will  and  resolution,  but  thanks  be  to  God  the 
blessed  Saviour  is  stronger  than  strong  drink.  He  is  stronger 
than  any  man's  appetite.  They  must  have  this  appetite  de 
stroyed.  Christ  came  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,  and 
this  appetite  is  a  work  of  the  devil.  Christ  can  take  away  this 
appetite.  In  Philadelphia  we  had  this  subject  for  every  Friday 
meeting,  and  when  we  left  we  had  good  reason  to  believe  over 
one  hundred  intemperate  men  had  been  reclaimed.  They 
formed  themselves  into  a  society,  and  they  were  going  into  the 
darkest  lanes  of  Philadelphia  and  hunting  up  those 'who  were 
addicted  to  the  same  sin,  and  they  were  trying  to  bring  them  to 
Christ.  I  wrote  to  some  of  them  to  come  over  and  state  what 
Christ  had  done  for  them,  and  I  have  just  received  a  dispatch 
saying  that  some  of  them  will  be  over  here  next  Friday.  One 
night  a  man  came  into  the  young  men's  meeting  so  und«r  the 
influence  of  liquor  that  when  he  got  up  to  ask  for  prayers  they 
pulled  him  down.  He  said  :  "  I  will  get  up."  I  had  no  faith 
that  the  Lord  would  convert  a  man  when  he  was  under  the 
influence  of  liquor,  but  the  Lord  did  convert  him.  God  can 
save  drunkards.  Let  us  have  faith  that  he  will  save  our  friends. 
In  this  fifth  chapter  of  Mark  we  find  there  were  three  who 
prayed.  The  devils  prayed  that  they  might  be  sent  out  of  the 
country,  and  the  Lord  answered  their  prayer.  The  men  of  the 
country  prayed  that  He  might  depart,  and  He  answered  their 
prayer.  Then  the  man  who  was  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind 
prayed  that  he  might  be  with  Christ,  but  Christ  didn't  answer 
that  prayer.  Why?  Because  He  wanted  him  to  go  to  work. 
He  said  :  "  Go  home  and  tell  what  the  Lord  hath  done  for  you. 
Peihaps  the  wife  and  children  always  ran  away  from  him  when 


420  MOODY    AND    SAN'KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

he  went  home.  Now  what  was  their  amazement  when  he  came 
in.  The  wild  glare  has  gone  from  his  eyes.  His  wife  is  yet  a 
little  afraid,  but  he  says,  "  Don't  be  afraid  of  me  any  more.  I 
am  perfectly  well.  The  Lord  Jesus  has  saved  me."  He  told 
his  friends.  You  may  say  a  layman  cannot  preach ;  that  was 
the  best  preaching  in  the  world.  I  imagine  he  got  on  some 
dry  goods  box  at  the  corner  of  some  street,  and  published  in 
Decapolis  what  good  things  Jesus  had  done  for  him.  Many  a 
man  is  bound  hand  and  foot  by  strong  drink,  and  thinks  there 
is  no  hope  for  him.  You  men  that  have  been  delivered  from 
the  power  of  strong  drink,  go  tell  these  men  that  God  has  power 
on  earth  to  free  every  drunkard  on  the  earth.  Let  us  have 
faith  to-day  in  prayer. 

Prayer  was  then   offered,  and  the  40th  hymn,  "  Oh  bliss  of 
/the  purified,"  was  sung. 

Mr.  Sankey  said  :  I  will  say  a  few  words  in  continuation  of 
this  subject  about  going  to  work  for  Jesus'  sake,  and  going  in 
the  name  of  Jesus.  After  we  had  been  four  months  in  London 
a  young  lady  in  the  house  in  which  I  stayed,  came  and  asked 
me  in  a  trembling  voice  if  I  would  pray  with  her  brother.  She 
said  he  had  been  going  to  church  ever  since  he  was  a  little  boy. 
He  attended  a  prominent  church  in  London.  She  said : 
"  When  the  sermon  is  being  preached,  I  see  there  is  a  troubled 
look  in  his  face."  The  tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks  as  she 
said  :  "  I  am  afraid  my  brother  is  not  a  Christian.  I  want  you 
to  go  with  him  to  church  and  speak  to  him  upon  this  subject." 
It  was  half  an  hour's  drive  to  the  hall,  and  I  spoke  to  this 
young  man  and  prayed  with  him  ;  I  prayed  for  Jesus'  sake 
that  he  might  be  rescued  and  join  us,  for  we  needed  help  from 
such  as  he.  That  night  at  the  meeting,  he  surrendered  his 
heart  to  Jesus.  The  next  night  God  used  him  in  speaking  to 
Others.  Three  nights  after  he  came  to  me  about  twelve  o'clock 
at  night.  He  knocked  at  my  bed-room  door.  I  got  up  and 
William  was  standing  there.  He  said  :  "  I  wish  you  would 
come  and  pray  with  my  brother  George."  I  went  up  stairs, 
and  there  was  his  younger  brother  praying  to  God  for  his  salva- 
tion.    I  stayed  there  half  an  hour.     If  you  could  have  heard 


THE   WORK   OF    GRACE    IN    NEW   YORK.  42I 

William's  prayer  for  his  brother,  and  how  he  brought  it  at  the 
close  for  Jesus'  sake,  it  would  have  sunk  deep  in  your  heart — it 
did  mine.  George  was  converted,  and  those  two  young  men 
are  now  working  in  and  for  the  Lord.  That  young  lady  was 
very  grateful  to  God  for  having  brought  her  brothers  out  of 
darkness,  and  she  went  the  following  week  and  hired  one  of  the 
largest  conveyances  she  could,  and  gathered  all  the  old  women 
that  were  unable  to  go  out  to  the  meeting — cripples,  and  those 
that  were  on  beds  of  sickness  that  could  be  taken  out.  She 
got  some  fifteen  or  twenty  of  them  in  the  stage,  and  she  sat  in 
the  rear,  and  they  went  to  the  meeting.  They  could  not  have 
got  to  the  meeting  any  other  way.  She  sat  beside  them,  and  she 
has  been  visiting  them  ever  since.  She  said  she  wanted  to  do 
something  for  the  Lord,  and  she  is  doing  that  work.  One  by 
one  those  aged  pilgrims  are  crossing  the  river.  She  is  there 
speaking  a  word  to  them  while  they  are  neglected  by  others. 
Oh,  that  we  may  have  such  scenes  here — grateful  hearts  going 
out  in  the  dark  places  of  the  city,  and  carrying  that  precious 
name  to  those  that  are  perishing.  If  you  do  this  work  in  Jesus' 
name,  God  will  bless  it,  and  He  will  use  you  to  carry  his  word 
to  perishing  souls. 

Mr.  Sankey  sang,  "  Not  now,  my  child,  a  little  more  rough 
tossing."  Prayer  was  then  offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Tyng,  Jr., 
making  special  reference  to  the  students  at  Princeton  College. 
Rev.  Dr.  Hepworth  said :  It  seems  to  me  that  we  have  a 
right  to  feel  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  in  our  midst. 
The  motive  for  this  immense  congregation  coming  here,  I  think, 
is  not  curiosity,  but  an  honest  desire  to  know  what  God  will 
have  us  to  do,  and  to  know  how  we  stand  in  the  judgment  of 
the  Almighty.  I  am  sure  that  our  dear  brother  was  led  by  the 
power  on  high  when  he  chose  the  subject  of  prayer  to  begin 
with.  It  is  often  that  the  nearest  road  to  a  neighbors  heart  is 
by  the  throne  of  heaven.  When  we  want  to  engage  in  war  we 
go  into  the  arsenal  and  take  the  proper  weapons,  and  when  we 
want  tD  pray  we  must  receive  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  and  the 
shie'd  from  the  hand  of  the  Almighty.  There  is  nothing  so 
beautiful  and  so  effective  as  prayer.     When  Christian  in  "  Bun- 


422 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


van's  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  was  sick  and  tired  and  worn  out  and 
weary,  he  lay  down  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  and  slept ;  and  when 
he  awoke  he  saw  the  burden  had  dropped  from  his  shoulders 
and  rolled  down  the  hill,  and  as  he  watched  it  it  fell  at  last  into 
the  sepulchre  of  the  Lord.  Some  of  you  may  want  to  begin  a 
new  life,  but  you  say,  "  How  shall  I  get  rid  of  the  sins  I  have 
already  committed  ? "  Our  brother  has  read  the  Word,  which  is 
the  golJen  key  to  unlock  that  door.  If  there  is  one  word  more 
emphatic  than  another — both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments — it 
is,  that  when  a  man  is  in  perfect  earnestness  about  himself,  and 
when  a  man  sits  down  in  humility,  God  takes  care  of  his  sins, 
and  his  eyes  never  behold  them  again. 

If  a  man  is  in  the  habit  of  drinking,  or  if  he  gives  away  to 
any  other  temptation  and  is  bound  with  its  iron  chain,  he  has 
but  one  course  to  pursue.  Human  friendship  may  give  him 
condolence  for  the  past  and  encouragement  for  the  future,  but  if 
he  goes  to  Jesus  Christ  he  will  get  rid  of  the  whole  thing.  God 
takes  the  sin  away  from  you  as  easily  as  you,  with  a  rubber,  will 
remove  a  pencil  mark  from  paper.  Come  to  the  cross  of  Christ 
in  humility,  but  with  a  spirit  of  determination  and  an  unswerving 
faiih  that  God  will  bless  you  because  He  wants  you,  and  thai 
your  best  friend  is  Jesus  Christ,  in  whose  name  you  utter  your 
prayer. 

Rev.  Dr.  Ormiston  said  :  Prayer  is  at  once  our  most  precious 
privilege  and  grandest  power.  It  is  a  precious  privilege  for 
each  soul  in  its  own  behalf  to  realize  that  it  is  entering  into  the 
very  presence  of  God  and  holding  communion  with  Him  who  is 
the  giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift,  and  who  knows  all  your 
wants  and  ways  and  needs  and  temptations.  K  you  come  to 
God  in  real  prayer  you  come  with  an  open  heart.  Your  tongue 
may  slammer,  your  lips  may  falter,  and  you  may  be  inadequate 
to  lell  out  in  articulate  words  all  you  want,  but  lay  bare  your 
heart  and  spread  it  out  as  Gideon  spread  the  fleece,  and  the 
Lord  will  supply  all  your  need. 

Prayer  is  not  mere  bowing  our  heads,  or  doing  as  others  do. 
It  is  the  dislinct  peculiar  privilege  of  each  soul.  You  may  sit 
in  a  congregation  like  this  and  ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred 


THE   WORK   OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  423 

may  be  praying  and  you  not,  or  on  the  other  hand  you  may  be 
praying   and    the  ninety-nine  not  praying.     Praying   is    direct 
personal  communion    with    a   personal    living   God    in    whose 
boundless  love  you  believe.     It  is  a  power  as  well  as  a  privilege. 
It  is  the  grandest  power  that  any  human  soul  can  wield  in  this 
world.     All  have  the  grand  gift.     We  may  not  be  all  strong, 
wise,  eloquent  or  learned,  but  it  is  the  universal  privilege  of  all 
God's  saints  to  enter  into  His  presence  within  the  vail  and  kneel 
before  the  mercy  seat  sprinkled  with  blood,  and  pray  for  others. 
Let  every  one  of  us,  if  we  have  received  the  gift  ourselves,  be 
solicitous  to  have  the  spirit  of  prayer,  and  then  when  we  find  we 
have  that  blessing,  we  can  enter  in  with  all  the  enrobed  priest- 
hood of  God.     When  this  whole  congregation  bow  their  heads 
in  prayer,  if  we  were  all  near  Him   what  a  wondrous  power  we 
would  have — the  priesthood  of  God  pleading  with   Him   that 
His   kingdom    may   come    and    reign    in    our   hearts  and  our 
churches  and  in  the  world.     Oh,  God  of  all  grace,  pour  out 
upon  us  as  a  people  the  spirit  of  supplication,  and  teach  us  now 
and  always  how  to  pray,  and  give  us  the  spirit  of  importunity  to 
continue  to  pray  until  a  new  world  shall  be  given  unto  Him. 
Mr.  Sankey  sang  ''  Holy  Spirit,  Heavenly  Guide." 
Mr.  Moody  said  :  At  a  place  where  we  were  holding  meetings, 
in  the  gas-works,  there   was   a  man  who  came  to  our  very  first 
meeting.   He  was  very  much  interested,  and  said,  "  I  will  try  and 
see  if  I  can't  lead  some  of  the  men  in  my  shop  to  Christ."     He 
began  to  talk  with  them.     There  were  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  men  on  the  night  watch,  and  when  I  left  they  said  twenty- 
five  out  of  the  hundred  and  seventy -five  had  been  converted, 
and  every  night  at  midnight — that  is  the  hour  they  have  what 
might  be  called  their  midnight  dinner — and  every  night  at  mid- 
night they  have  a  prayer-meeting.     When  you   and  I  sleep  to- 
night  all  these  young  converts   speak   and  pray,  and  it  looks 
now  as   if  every  man  in  the  gas-works  was  gouig  to   be  brought 
to  Christ. 

I  have  felt  the  Spirit  of  God  working  in  my  heart  just  as 
I  have  felt  the  wind  blowing  in  my  face.  I  can't  reason  it  out. 
There  are  a  great  many  things  I  can't  reason  out  that  I  believe. 


424  MOODY    AND    SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

I  never  could  reason  out  the  Creation.  I  can  see  the  world, 
but  I  can't  tell  how  God  made  it  out  of  nothing.  All  your 
Tyndalls  and  your  philosophers  of  the  present  day  can't  create 
one  grain  of  sand  out  of  nothing.  But  even  these  men  will 
admit  there  is  a  creating  power.  There  are  a  great  many  things 
that  I  can't  explain  and  that  I  can't  reason  out,  that  I  believe. 
I  heard  a  commercial  traveller  say  that  he  had  heard  that  the 
ministry  and  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  was  a  matter  of  revelation 
and  not  investigation.  "  When  it  pleases  God  to  reveal  His 
Son  to  me,"  says  Paul.  There  were  a  party  of  young  men 
together,  and  those  men  went  back  to  the  country,  and  on  their 
journey  they  made  up  their  mind  not  to  believe  anything  they 
could  not  reason  out.  An  old  man  heard  them,  and  presently 
he  said,  "  I  heard  you  say  you  would  not  believe  anything  you 
could  not  reason  out."  "Yes,"  they  said,  "that  was  so." 
"Well,''  he  said,  "coming  down  on  the  train  to-day,  I  noticed 
some  geese,  some  sheep,  some  swine,  and  some  cattle,  all  eat- 
ing grass.  Can  you  tell  me  by  what  process  that  same  grass 
was  turned  into  hair,  feathers,  bristles,  and  wool  ?  Do  you 
believe  it  is  a  fact  ?  "  "  Oh,  yes,"  they  said,  "  we  can't  help  believ- 
ing that,  though  we  fail  to  see  it."  "Well,"  said  the  old  man, 
"  I  can't  help  believing  in  the  regeneration  of  man  when  I  see 
men  that  have  been  reclaimed.  I  see  men  that  have  been 
reformed.  Haven't  some  of  the  very  worst  men  in  the  city  been 
regenerated — picked  up  out  of  the  pit  and  their  feet  put  upon 
the  rock  and  a  new  song  put  in  their  mouth?  It  was  cursing 
and  blaspheming,  and  now  it  is  praising  God.  Old  things  have 
passed  away  and  all  things  have  become  new  ;  not  reformed 
only,  but  regenerated — a  new  man  in  Christ  Jesus." 

I>ook  you,  down  there  in  the  dark  alleys  of  New  York  is  a 
poor  drunkard.  I  think  if  you  want  to  get  near  hell,  go  to  3 
|x>or  drunkard's  home.  Go  to  the  house  of  that  poor  miserable 
drunkard.  Is  there  anything  nearer  like  hell  on  earth  ?  See 
the  want  and  distress  that  reigns  there.  But  hark  !  A  footstep 
is  heard  at  the  door,  and  the  children  run  and  hide  themselves. 
The  patient  wife  waits  to  meet  him.  The  man  has  been  her 
torment     Many   a   time  she    has  borne  about  for   weeks    the 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  425 

marks  of  blows.  Many  a  time  that  strong  right  hand  has  been 
brought  down  on  her  defenceless  head.  And  now  she  waits 
expecting  to  hear  his  oaths  and  suffer  his  brutal  treatment.  He 
comes  in  and  says  to  her  :  "  I  have  been  to  the  meeting,  and  I 
heard  there  that  if  I  will  I  can  be  converted.  I  believe  that 
God  is  able  to  save  me."  Go  down  to  that  house  again  in  a 
few  weeks  and  what  a  change  1  As  you  approach  you  hear 
some  one  singing.  It  is  not  the  song  of  a  reveller,  but  they 
are  singing  the  "  Rock  of  Ages."  The  children  are  no  longer 
afraid  of  him,  but  cluster  around  his  knee.  His  wife  is  near 
him,  her  face  lit  up  with  happy  glow.  Is  not  that  a  picture  of 
regeneration  ?  I  can  take  you  to  thousands  of  such  homes,  made 
happy  by  the  regenerating  power  of  the  religion  of  Christ. 
What  men  want  is  the  power  to  overcome  temptation,  the  power 
to  lead  a  right  Hfe. 

The  only  way  to  get  into  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  to  be  born 
into  it.  If  the  Archangel  Gabriel  was  to  wing  his  way  here  to- 
night, and  we  could  have  a  chance  to  tell  him  all  our  wishes, 
we  couldn't  ask  him  for  a  better  way  of  getting  into  the  King- 
dom of  God.  Christ  has  made  salvation  ready  for  us,  and  all 
we  must  do  is  just  to  take  it.  Oh,  may  we  not  hesitate  to  take 
it !  There  is  a  law  in  this  country  requiring  that  the  President 
must  be  born  in  the  country.  When  foreigners  come  to  our 
shores  they  have  no  right  to  complain  against  such  a  law,  which 
forbids  them  from  ever  becoming  Presidents.  Now  hasn't 
God  a  right  to  make  a  law  that  all  those  who  become  heirs  of 
eternal  life  must  be  born  in  His  Kingdom  ?  An  unregenerated 
man  would  rather  be  in  hell  than  in  heaven.  Take  a  man 
whose  heart  is  full  of  corruption  and  wickedness,  and  place  him 
in  heaven  among  the  pure,  the  holy,  and  the  redeemed,  and  he 
wouldn't  want  to  stay  there.  My  friends,  if  we  are  to  be  happy 
in  heaven  we  must  begin  to  make  a  heaven  here  on  earth. 
Heaven  is  a  prepared  place  for  a  prepared  people. 

Mr.  Sankey  said  that  Sunday  was  the  best  day  he  had  passed 
in  New  York.  The  inquiry-rooms  were  very  interesting.  He  met 
Sdveral  men  from  England  who  had  been  under  the  influence  of 


4^6  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

the  revival  there  and  had  since  been  converted.  He  then  sang 
the  hymn  "Call  them  in,  the  broken  hearted." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Osborne  said  he  knew  of  three  persons  who  were 
impressed  at  one  of  the  Sunday  meetings  in  the  afternoon,  and 
that  Christians  had  gone  home  with  them  and  labored  until  9 
o'clock,  when  they  were  converted,  and  are  now  rejoicing  in 
their  faith,  "We  should  learn  from  this,"  he  said,  "  that  when 
an  inquirer  comes  to  us  we  should  never  leave  the  person  until 
conversion  results." 

The  subject  of  Mr.  Moody's  remarks  was  disobedience. 
He  said : 

All  the  trouble  in  the  world  originates  in  this  little  word.  It 
is  the  cause  of  all  misery,  and  is  the  open  door  through  which 
it  comes.  It  was  there  that  Adam  fell ;  God  told  him  that  he 
shouldn't  do  a  certain  thing,  and  he  did  it.  In  the  15th  chap- 
ter of  First  Samuel  we  read  of  sacrifices  and  obedience,  and 
that  God  prefers  being  obeyed  to  having  any  sacrifice  offered 
that  men  may  choose.  The  first  thing  that  God  wants  is  obedi- 
ence. That's  what  we  want  .in  our  families.  If  our  children 
disobey  us  there  comes  an  alternative.  They  must  learn  to 
obey,  or  they  or  we  must  leave  the  house.  It  is  the  same  with 
the  kingdom  of  God.  If  we  enter  it  we  must  obey.  To  obey 
is  better  thaii  making  sacrifice.  Saul  lost  his  crown,  his  throne, 
his  son,  his  friend  Samuel,  and  the  friendship  of  his  son-in-law 
David  ;  he  turned  his  back  on  them  all  because  of  his  disobe- 
dience, and  he  finally  lost  his  life.  But  just  turn  to  that  other 
Saul  over  in  the  New  Testament.  He  was  obedient  unto  death. 
He  had  no  Jonathan,  save  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  He  had 
no  crown,  no  throne,  but  he  won  them  both.  A  blessing  is 
promised  all  who  will  obey.  God  deals  with  individuals  as 
with  nations.  The  punishment  is  the  same.  Punishment 
comes  alike  upon  families  and  individuals  if  they  will  not  obey. 
A  crisis  may  come  when  we  do  not  know  whether  to  obey  God 
or  our  employers  or  possibly  our  panents.  The  Word  of  God 
makes  the  way  clear.  When  we  come  into  God's  kingdom, 
"  Whatsoever  He  saith  to  thee,  do  it."  If  the  laws  of  the 
nation   are   in  conflict   with  God's  law,  they  must  be  broken. 


THE   WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  427 

Christ  alone  of  all  men  obeyed  God  full3\  Obey  Him  and 
then  God  may  look  down  pleased  with  His  children,  and  say, 
"  This  is  my  son,  this  is  my  daughter."  Christ  came  to  do 
God's  will.  When  men  disobey  army  orders  they  are  court- 
martialed  and  shot.  No  one  complains.  Now,  my  friends,  is 
tliere  not  as  much  reason  why  we  should  obey  the  orders  of 
Heaven,  and  when  we  do  not,  should  we  not  be  punished? 
Sinners  are  willing  to  do  anything  but  obey  God.  Coming  to 
him  as  a  poor  beggar  is  what  they  don't  like.  If  they  could 
buy  salvation  they  would  gladly  do  it.  Some  men  down  in 
Wall  street,  I  fancy,  would  pay  great  prices.  Many  people  come 
to  me  and  say,  "  Mr.  Moody,  is  it  right  for  me  to  go  to  the 
theatre  ;  can  I  dance  }  "  That  ain't  it.  Can  we  glorify  God  by 
doing  such  things  ?  It's  a  good  deal  better  to  be  right  with  God 
and  then  he  will  look  down  with  pleasure  and  bless  us. 

Mr.  Moody  then  prayed,  thanking  God  for  what  he  had  seen 
in  the  inquiry-rooms  the  previous  evening  and  especially  for  the 
conversion  of  a  scoffer  who  had  come  into  the  meeting. 

The  special  words  to  which  he  directed  attention  were  the 
words  of  Christ,  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."     He  said  : 

We  here  find  an  invitation  to  come  to  Christ.  He  says, 
*'  Come  unto  me  all."  I  like  that  word  "  all,"  because  every 
one  is  included  in  it.  The  question  that  comes  home  to  us  all 
is,  Shall  we  come  ?  Some  people  go  to  Christ  with  their  good 
deeds,  pure  desires,  good  thoughts  and  good  name.  But  this 
isn't  what  Christ  wants.  He  alone  wants  the  sins  of  men. 
They  are  all  that  he  himself  hasn't  got,  and  he  wants  them. 
The  moment  we  are  willing  to  come  to  him  with  our  sins,  he 
will  receive  us.  He  will  forgive  and  heaK  whoever  brings  his 
soul  to  him.  God  dealeth  with  us  as  we  deal  with  our  children. 
]f  your  child  does  wrong,  if  he  tells  a  lie,  you  want  him  to  con- 
fess, and  begin  to  talk  with  him.  He  may  tell  you  that  he  is  the 
best  scholar  in  his  class,  that  he  is  obedient,  and  that  he  loves 
you.  But  that  ain't  what  you  want.  You  want  him  to  confess 
that  he  has  told  a  lie.  So  let  us  learn  to  come  before  the  Sa- 
viour and  confess  our  sins,  laying  them  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.     But 


428  MOODY    AND    SANKKV    IX    AMERICA. 

by  what  right  can  we  respond  to  this  invitation?  Suppose  the 
mayor  of  New  York  should  invite  all  the  Smiths  to  a  banquet, 
and  Mr.  Sankey  should  go  and  try  to  get  in  on  the  plea  that  he 
was  a  singer.  Or  suppose  a  man  should  go  whose  name  was 
Jones  and  who  was  a  good  scientist.  Do  you  suppose  they 
could  get  in  when  their  names  were  not  Smith  ?  Now,  if  you 
can  prove  that  you  are  a  sinner,  this  invitation  from  Christ  ap- 
plies to  you.  Don't  try  to  prove  your  worthiness  but  your  un- 
worthiness.  If  you  want  rest  come  to  Christ.  It  can't  be 
obtained  in  the  world.  You  can't  buy  it ;  your  friends  can't 
give  it  to  you  ;  God  don't  call  you  without  giving  you  the  means 
of  winning ;  you  can  come  if  you  will.  O,  may  God  give  you 
the  power  to-day. 

After  a  prayer  and  the  singing  of  a  hymn,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Tucker  said  ''the  idea  of  Christ  has  become  sadly  confused  of 
late  in  the  world.  Many  think  him  to  be  far  off,  only  to  be 
reached  in  some  indistinct  and  unknown  way.  The  truth  is  that 
the  idea  of  him  should  be  simple,  and  that  he  is  God  in  the 
flesh,  ready  at  any  moment  to  save  and  to  help  men.  We  must 
preach  such  a  Christ  and  talk  such  a  Christ.  It  is  simply  the 
old  story,  *  God  so  loved  the  world.'  " 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Seaver  said  there  were  no  truer  words  than 
those  of  the  old  hymn,  "  If  you  tarry  till  you  are  better,  you'll 
never  come."  There  was  no  simpler  definition  of  faith  than  the 
one  given  by  the  late  Dr.  Bushnell,  that  "it  is  that  act  whereby 
one  person — a  sinner — commits  himself  to  another  person — a 
Saviour." 

Third  week  of  Mercy. 

Still  the  vast  multitudes  throng  the  Hippodrome  and  Mr. 
Moody  stirs,  and  Sankey  enthuses  and  soothes  them.  Speak- 
ing, at  an  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  meeting,  on  "  occupy 
till  I  come,"  he  said  : 

These  words  were  addressed  to  us  as  well  as  to  the  Apostles. 
They  are  for  every  child  of  God— not  to  the  elders  or  the  min- 
isters merely,  but  to  you  and  me  and  to  every  man  and  woman. 
Wc  may  divide  the  church  into  four  classes.     The  first  are  ob- 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  429 

jectors  ;  they  do  nothing  but  object,  object,  object.  They  are 
destructive.  Nothing  can  live  near  them.  They  are  always 
finding  fault  and  complaining.  They  want  their  own  way,  will 
never  be  contented,  should  never  have  got  into  the  ciiurch. 
'I'he  second  class  are  obstructive  ;  they  remain  stable,  and  are 
a  stumbling-block.  Others  are  idlers,  who  take  no  interest  in 
the  church.  They  are  sound  asleep,  and  Satan  can  do  any- 
thing with  them. 

To  the  other  class  I  want  to  speak  this  morning.  They  are 
the  workers.  I  would  rather  have  one  hundred  Christian 
workers  than  one  hundred  converts.  We  must  restore  the 
standard.  It  is  better  to  get  ten  men  to  work  than  to  do  ten 
men's  work.  I  will  almost  say  that  three-fourths  of  the  church 
is  asleep.  O,  what  a  power  the  Church  of  God  might  become 
were  its  members  ready  to  work  for  their  friends'  souls !  There 
are  one  thousand  persons  in  this  hall  every  night  who  would  be 
glad  if  some  one  would  speak  with  them.  The  trouble  is  we're 
afraid  we'll  offend  some  one,  or  that  we'll  make  a  mistake,  and 
the  result  is  that  we  do  nothing.  Now,  there  is  a  great  diver- 
sity of  gifts  among  Christians.  Every  man  has  a  circle  of 
friends  among  whom  he  has  more  influence  than  any  one  else. 
My  friend  here  from  the  Philadelphia  Gas  Works  has  done 
more  good  among  his  companions  than  the  best  ministers  in 
Philadelphia  could  have  done.  I'd  rather  have  that  man  there 
than  Dr.  Tyng.  I  well  remember  one  day  in  London  I  visited 
a  dog  market,  where  fights  were  going  on.  I  tried  in  every  way 
to  draw  the  attention  of  the  crowd,  but  failed.  Finally,  one  of 
their  own  number  began  to  speak.  They  stopped  at  once.  In 
fifteen  minutes  that  man  did  more  than  all  of  us.  I  know  a 
Dublin  man  who  circulates  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  tracts  every  year,  and  I've  heard  men  say,  "  O,  how  I'd  like 
to  do  that."  I  know  another  man — a  reformed  burglar — and  I 
question  whether  he  has  not  done  as  much  good  as  the  rich 
man  in  Dublin.  Every  man  should  use  the  talent  God  has 
given  him.  Last  Friday  night  these  reformed  men  from  Phila- 
delphia gained  the  ears  of  men  in  that  meeting  who  would  not 
listen  to  me.     I  heard  the  other  day  of  an  irreligious  man  who 


43©  MOODY    AND.SAXKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

came  to  this  city  one  day  last  week,  and  was  stopping  at  one 
of  the  holds.  On  Wednesday  morning  he  sent  a  boy  out  for  a 
certain  one  of  the  city  papers.  The  boy  couldn't  find  it,  and 
brought  The  Tribune.  The  man  read  the  report  of  the  meet- 
ings on  the  previous  day.  The  story  I  had  told  of  the  two 
brothers  who  became  converted  on  the  same  evening  at  differ- 
ent meetings  had  a  power  over  him.  He  said  it  went  to  hifi 
soul.  AH  that  day  and  the  next  he  remained  in  his  room,  and 
at  last  found  light,  and  telegraphed  the  news  to  his  friends. 

At  this  point  Mr.  Moody  looked  at  his  watch  and  said  :  But 
my  time  is  up  ;  got  to  close  right  away ;  agreed  to  let  you  go 
out  in  forty-five  minutes;  let  us  rise  and  sing,  "Praise  God 
from  whom  all  blessings  flow." 

Describing  a  noon  meeting,  the  reporter  says  : 

Mr.  Moody  seldom  preaches  a  sermon  that  fails  to  move  a 
large  part  of  his  audience  to  tears.  In  some  instances  the 
power  of  his  stories  is  very  remarkable  in  this  respect.  But  at 
the  noon  meeting,  when  Mr.  Moody  did  no  more  than  preside, 
the  congregation  was  affected  to  a  much  greater  degree  than  on 
any  previous  occasion.  The  day  had  been  set  apart  for  prayers 
and  remarks  on  the  subject  of  temperance,  and  ten  men  were 
present  who  had  been  converted  from  habits  of  intemperance 
while  the  Evangelists  were  in  Philadelphia.  The  hour  was 
given  up  to  them,  and  four  of  the  number  stood  in  Mr.  Moody's 
place  and  told  the  story  of  their  fall  and  subsequent  conversion. 
They  represented  different  grades  of  society,  and  there  was  con- 
siderable variety  in  their  experiences.  The  effect  of  their  sim- 
ple and  sometimes  homely  language  was  powerfully  shown  upon 
all  present.  Tears  were  in  the  eyes  of  men  and  women  every- 
where. Ministers,  members  of  the  choir,  policemen  and  re- 
porters, all  yielded  to  the  influences.  Mr.  Moody  sat  at  the 
rear  of  the  speakers  and  tears  flowed  down  his  cheeks  like  rain. 

The  first  prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  A.  D.  Vail,  and  after 
a  hymn  had  been  sung  Mr.  Moody  said:  "We  have  with  us 
to-day  several  friends  from  Philadelphia  who  will  tell  what  their 
expel ienco  has  been.  'I'hey  are  not  accustomed  to  speaking  to 
an  audience  like  this,  but  I  hope  you  will  pray  for  them  as  they 


THE  WORK  OF  GRACE  IN  NEW  YORK.  43I 

speak,  and  make  them  feel  that  tliey  are  among  friends."  He 
then  read  from  John  i.,  ii,  12  :  "  He  came  unto  His  own  and 
His  own  received  Him  not,  but  as  many  as  received  Him  to 
them  gave  He  power."  "That/'  said  Mr.  Moody,  "means 
every  darkened  soul  in  New  York.  There  is  no  one  so  vile  that 
He  cannot  save  him." 

Mr.  Jameson,  a  night  laborer  in  the  gas  works  in  Philadelphia, 
was  introduced.  He  said  he  was  not  accustomed  to  speaking 
before  such  an  audience,  but  added :  When  you  have  the  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ  you  are  not  afraid  to  do  anything  for  His  cause." 
He  said  he  was  formerly  accustomed  to  make  three  dollars  a  day 
and  go  home  and  tell  his  wife  he  made  only  ten  shillings.  The  dif- 
ference he  spent  for  liquor.  He  had  joined  temperance  societies, 
but  they  did  not  help  him  for  any  length  of  time.  One  evening  he 
was  out  with  his  friends,  and  they  were  drinking,  when  one  of 
them  suggested  that  they  go  to  the  revival  meetings,  as  he  had 
heard  that  Mr.  Sankey  was  a  "red-hot  singer."  The  sermoD 
came  home  to  him  (Jameson),  and  he  prayed.  "  The  prayer," 
he  said,  "  was  the  hardest  work  I  ever  did  in  my  life.  It  made 
me  sweat  more  than  working  around  the  hot  fires  of  the  gas 
works.  We  now  have  prayer-meetings  at  the  works  ;  there  are 
one  hundred  Christians  there,  and  a  ^gin  mill*  near  by  is  for 
sale." 

Mr.  Moody  then  presented  Mr.  Linton  to  the  audience.  He 
said :  I  was  once  a  very  prosperous  man,  and  had  made  a  great 
deal  of  money.  I  began  to  drink.  I  lost  my  money.  I  left 
the  church.  I  lost  my  little  boy  whom  I  idolized,  and  his  death- 
bed scene  made  me  reform  ;  but  I  only  gave  God  one-half  of 
my  heart.  I  again  became  prosperous  and  took  to  drink,  and 
lost  my  money  and  my  friends,  and  went  to  ruin.  A  dear  sister 
at  last  took  me  into  the  meetings  at  the  Depot.  I  met  Mr. 
Moody.  After  that  I  attended  the  meetings  alone,  and  finally 
God  blessed  me  with  new  life." 

The  hymn  "Yield  not  to  temptation"  was  sung,  and  Mr  Hil- 
ton Slid  :  "  I  was  once  a  low  drunkard  :  I  was  beneath  the  brute, 
and  you  can't  get  much  lower  than  that.  My  mother  prayed 
for  me,  and  my  friends  all  left  me.     One  night  some  of  us  went 


432  MOOPY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

in  to  hear  Mr.  Sankey  sing.  When  we  were  going  away  I  said 
I  thought  he  was  a  pretty  good  singer,  but  argued  that  'Billy  ' 
Moseman  could  beat  him.  I  went  the  next  night,  and  Mr. 
Moody  preached  from  the  te.xt,  '  Where  art  thou  ? '  Those 
woids  kept  ringing  in  my  ears.  I  knew  my  degradation;  had 
even  called  upon  God  to  smite  me  dead.  But  those  words 
became  my  salvation,  and  I  am  a  new  man.  I  would  not  give 
what  happiness  I  have  known  for  the  wealth  of  millionaires. 
My  f^imily  and  my  niece  have  now  all  come  to  Christ,  and  we 
are  happy." 

Mr.  Anderson  said  he  had  become  intemperate  while  in  the 
army,  had  reformed  and  then  again  had  turned  to  drink.  "  I 
became,"  he  said,  ''a  perfect  slave  to  liquor.  I  have  taken  a 
razor  to  my  throat  in  moments  of  despair.  My  friends  all 
deserted  me,  and  there  was  none  who  cared  for  me  but  my  wife 
and  my  aged  father  and  mother.  They  all  prayed  for  me  for 
years.  I  went  to  one  of  the  meetings.  I  kept  repeating  the 
words  'turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die.'  I  had  a  great  strug- 
gle, and  at  last  was  on  my  knees,  and  a  great  load  was  lifted 
from  off  my  shoulders." 

Mr.  Reid,  a  fine-looking  young  man,  said  he  was  a  helpless 
drunkard  at  twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  had  taken  pledge 
after  pledge,  and  all  to  no  purpose.  His  mother  loved  him  ten- 
derly. He  read  to  the  audience  a  letter  he  had  once  received 
from  her.  One  night  he  came  home  after  a  long  debauch  in  a 
neighboring  city,  and  his  mother  met  him  kindly.  He  fell  sick, 
and  when  he  had  recovered  he  was  told  that  his  mother  was  at 
the  point  of  death.  He  then  thought  that  he  had  murdered  her. 
He  resolved  again  to  reform,  and  he  did  reform.  '*God,"  he 
said,  "was  so  good  to  me  as  to  raise  that  mother  from  her  bed 
of  sickness." 

Mr.  Moody  then  prayed,  with  a  voice  choked  by  his  deep 
emotion,  that  these  men  might  be  blessed,  and  might  have 
strength  to  always  keep  near  Christ.  The  meeting  was  then 
dismissed  with  the  benediction. 

At  another  meeting  the  subject  of  Mr.  Moody's  remaiks  was 
Hope.     He  said  : 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  433 

l(  I  should  question  every  one  here  to-day  I  have  no  doubt 
each  would  be  found  with  a  hope.  But  is  it  a  true  or  a  false 
hope  !  If  it  is  false  it  is  worse  than  none.  Job  speaks  about 
the  hypocrite,  and  says :  "  Will  God  hear  his  cry  when  trouble 
Cometh  upon  him."  Solomon  says  in  Proverbs  that  "  the  hope 
of  the  unjust  man  shall  perish."  If  you  have  false  hopes. of 
heaven,  the  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  give  them  up.  For 
what  are  they  good  for  ?  Will  they  bear  you  over  Jordan  ?  Will 
they  sustain  you  beyond  the  grave  ?  But  true  hope  is  not  in 
regard  to  eternal  life.  That  is  secured  to  us  if  we  are  born  of 
God.  Our  hopes  are  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  His  second 
coming  and  our  own  resurrection.  It  is  written,  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth  hath  eternal  life."  The  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from 
heaven,  the  dead  shall  be  raised,  and  we  shall  meet  Him  in  the 
air.  It  is  a  glorious  hope.  All  that  believe  shall  rise.  That 
is  a  hope  sure  and  steadfast.  Some  one  says  that  joy  is  like  a 
lark  that  sings  in  the  morning,  but  hope  is  like  a  nightingale 
that  sings  in  the  night.  We  won't  need  hope  after  we  get  to 
heaven.  But  it  takes  us  there.  You  can  have  Christ  and  this 
hope  to-day  if  you  will.  "  He  came  unto  His  own  and  His  own 
received  Him  not,  but  as  many  as  received  Him  to  them  gave 
He  power." 

After  a  prayer  and  the  singing  of  the  hymn,  "  'Tis  the  promise 
of  God  full  salvation  to  give,''  the  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson  spoke 
briefly.  The  Rev.  Dr.  White  said  that  many  persons  cherished 
a  hope  that  they  would  prepare  for  the  future  late  in  life.  But 
the  apostle  says, ''  How  shall  ye  escape  if  ye  neglect  so  great 
salvation  .'*  " 

Mr.  Sankey  then  sang  a  hymn  alone,  and  a  season  of  silent 
prayer  followed,  after  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hall  said :  "  The 
word  of  the  living  God  is  the  warrant  for  our  belief  and  hope. 
There  are  delusive  hopes,  and  how  shall  a  man  know  that  his  is 
of  the  true  type  ?  A  man  knows  his  own  failings  ;  he  has  an 
inner  consciousness  of  these.  He  knows  if  his  hope  be  a  well- 
grounded  one.  True  hope  is  elevating,  purifying,  and  makes  a 
man  God-like  according  as  it  is  strong." 

Mr.  Wells  announced  that  the  Committee  had  set  apart  Sat 
19 


4^4  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

iirday  for  special  prayer  for  Christian  work,  and  that  he  pro- 
posed now  to  have  a  prayer-meeting.  What  we  need  now  is 
prayer,  more  prayer  for  Christian  work,  for  Christ  work,  that 
brought  Him  from  heaven  to  this  earth  of  ours,  the  work  for 
wiiich  He  hung  upon  the  cross.  The  only  way  I  take  strength 
in  prayer  is  to  take  the  Bible  and  lay  my  hand  upon  it  and  say, 
"  Lord,  Thou  hast  said  it."  We  have  an  invitation  to  prayer. 
Let  us  accept  it. 

Mr.  Wells  then  drew  some  instructive  conclusions  from  the 
prayer  of  David,  after  which  he  related  an  incident  of  a  litde 
girl  who  came  to  him  the  other  night,  and  said  :  "  If  there 
should  be  a  little  child  who  has  not  been  brought  to  God,  I 
should  like  him  to  come  to  me."  I  went  down  into  the  au- 
dience, and  saw  a  mother  with  a  boy  by  her  side,  and  I  went  up 
to  her  and  said  :  "  Is  your  boy  a  Christian  ?  "  She  said  :  "  No  j 
but  I  wish  he  was."  I  said  :  "  Johnny,  would  you  like  to  be  a 
Christian.?"  He  said:  "I  don't  know."  I  took  that  litde 
child  by  the  hand  and  led  him  to  the  little  girl  and  left  them 
together.  When  I  came  by,  about  fifteen  minutes  afterwards, 
they  were  both  on  their  knees,  praying.  When  the  little  boy 
came  down,  he  said  to  his  mother :  "  Mamma,  have  you  found 
Jesus  ? — I  found  Him  up  there  in  the  gallery."  I  went  home 
with  that  little  girl,  and  she  said  to  her  mother :  "  Only  think, 
Jesus  let  me  tell  that  little  boy  the  way  to  Him." 
Again  Mr.  Moody  discoursing  on  Faith  said  : 
But  now  the  question  is,  Who  shall  we  have  faith  in  ?  A  man 
got  up  in  one  of  our  young  men's  meetings  the  other  night  and 
wanted  to  know  why  it  was  there  were  so  many  that  backslid. 
One  reason  for  backsliding  is  because  men  are  not  sound  in 
their  faith  ;  it  is  because  they  have  not  really  been  converted  to 
God.  A  good  many  men  are  converted  to  a  church  ;  they  say, 
**  I  like  that  church  ;  it  is  a  beautiful  church,  and  there  is  beau- 
tiful singing  ;  I  like  that  quartet  choir  and  the  grand  organ,  and 
there  is  a  good  minister."  And  so  they  are  converted  to  the 
church,  and  they  are  converted  to  the  singing,  and  converted 
lo  th-e  organ,  and  converted  to  the  minister,  or  they  are  con- 
verted to  the  people  liiut  go  there.     They  gel  into  good  society 


THE    WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  435 

by  going  there.  But  that  is  not  being  born  of  God,  or  being 
converted  to  God.  Once  there  was  an  old  chap  sat  down 
among  some  army  soldiers,  who  were  telling  stories  of  adven- 
ture, and  one  fellow  got  up  and  told  all  about  how  he  had  back- 
slid, but  the  old  soldier  said,  "  I  think  there  is  some  mistake 
and  the  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  you  have  never  yet  slid  for- 
ward." Now  if  a  man  has  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  he 
has  got  something  he  can  anchor  to,  and  the  anchor  will  hold  ; 
and  when  the  hour  of  temptation  comes  to  him,  and  the  hour 
of  trial  comes  to  him,  the  man  will  stand  firm.  If  we  are  only 
converted  to  man  and  our  faith  is  in  man,  we  will  certainly  be 
disappointed.  How  very  often  we  hear  a  man  say,  "  There  is 
a  member  of  the  church  who  cheated  me  out  of  five  dollars,  and 
I  am  not  going  to  have  anything  more  to  do  with  people  who 
call  themselves  Christians."  But  if  the  man  had  had  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  you  do  not  suppose  he  would  have  had  his  faith 
shattered  because  some  one  cheated  him  out  of  five  dollars,  do 
you.'  What  we  want  is  some  one  to  have  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Turn  to  the  prophecy  of  Jeremiah,  17th  chap- 
ter, beginning  with  the  5  th  verse :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Cursed 
be  the  man  that  trusteth  in  man  and  maketh  flesh  his  arm,  and 
whose  heart  departeth  from  the  Lord.  Blessed  is  the  man  that 
trusteth  in  the  Lord  and  whose  hope  the  Lord  is."  But  cursed 
is  the  man  who  puts  his  trust  in  man  ;  that  is  the  reason  why  so 
many  people  are  all  the  time  being  disappointed,  and  why  there 
are  so  many  that  find  their  faith  shaken.  It  is  because  they 
have  been  trusting  in  man,  and  man  has  failed  them,  and  they 
have  been  trusting  in  themselves,  and  their  hearts  are  deceitful 
and  desperately  wicked,  and  we  cannot  have  trust  in  ourselves  ; 
and  because  man  has  failed  us,  or  because  we  have  failed  our- 
selves, we  think  God  will  fail  us.  But  if  we  put  our  trust  in 
the  God  of  Jacob,  He  will  surely  not  fail  us. 

At  the  close  of  his  sermon  he  said  :  "  I  can't  help  but  think 
that  we  have  had  the  best  meeting  to-night  that  we  ever  had.  I 
am  glad  to  see  so  many  here."  "  Faith,"  he  seems  fitted  to  ex- 
pound, for  a  man  who  has  known  him  long  and  well  said  the 
other  day,  '^He  has  the  largest  faith  of  any  man  I  ever  kn  iw." 


436  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

II is  thorough  study  of  the  Bible,  to  the  exclusion  of  almost  every 
other  book,  has  disciplined  him  in  the  use  of  simple  and  direct 
speech.  Before  his  ]iible  Mr.  Moody  bows  with  a  sublime  rev- 
erence. He  once  said  it  was  worth  more  than  all  the  libraries 
in  Europe.  A  learned  clergyman  has  said,  "  Give  me  a  book 
that  is  Bibler  than  this  Bible  and  I'll  accept  it."  Mr.  Moody 
one  evening  held  his  Bible  at  arm's  length  above  and  beyond  his 
head,  and  said  if  any  one  would  offer  him  a  better  book  he  would 
make  the  exchange.  "  But  don't  ask  me,"  he  continued,  "  to 
give  up  this  book  until  you  can  offer  a  better  one  in  its  place." 
With  God  supreme  above  all  things,  and  full  of  love  and  mercy, 
the  ideal  Christian  is  to  Mr.  Moody  one  who  accepts  this  love 
in  all  its  fullness,  and  bows  in  supreme  humility  before  it.  He 
must  banish  his  pride,  cease  to  value  the  successes  and  honors 
of  life,  and  have  an  unbounded  faith  in  God,  and  be  willing  "to 
get  down  in  the  dust  like  Abraham,  and  work  and  wait  for  the 
blessing." 

When  Mr.  Moody  had  finished  his  sermon,  he  asked  the  ladies 
And  the  men  to  separate  and  form  meetings  in  each  of  the  halls, 
which,  was  done,  while  the  choir  sang  "Only  trust  Him."  A 
marked  interest  was  developed  at  these  meetings,  and  the  in- 
quiry-rooms were  thronged  until  a  late  hour. 

Fourth  Week  of  Revival. 

The  attendance,  was  gratifying  in  spite  of  the  unfavorable 
weather,  and  on  some  occasions  overwhelming.  Mr.  Moody  an- 
nounced every  evening  that  he  would  address  the  young  men  of 
the  city  on  Sunday  morning,  his  subject  being  "  The  Prophet 
I)anicl."  Tickets  to  the  number  of  seven  thousand  were  issued, 
and  five  thousand  of  them  were  limited  in  the  distribution  ex- 
clusively to  young  men,  the  remaining  two  thousand  being  given 
to  any  others  that  might  apply  for  them.  The  influence  of  the 
soft  Spring  morning,  and  the  general  publicity  given  to  the  sub- 
ject of  the  meeting,  had  the  effect  of  bringing  out  a  very  large 
attendance — the  largest  that  has  ever  been  seen  in  the  building 
on  Sunday  morning.  In  the  course  of  his  sermon  Mr.  Moody 
said: 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  437 

When  Daniel  went  to  Babylon  he  took  his  stand  ;  the  meat 
and  the  wine  which  were  offered  him  he  refused  to  eat.  He 
knew  that  the  wine  had  been  offered  up  to  idols,  and  he  refused 
to  partake  of  what  had  been  thus  polluted.  He  saw  that  the 
law  of  God  and  the  law  of  the  great  king  Nebuchadnezzar  were 
in  conflict,  but  he  obeyed  the  law  of  God.  He  was  a  man  of 
faith  and  of  belief.  In  ten  days  he  looked  healthier  than  any 
of  those  who  ate  as  the  king  had  ordered.  He  had  taken  his 
stand  for  God  and  God  blessed  him.  Young  man,  you-  that 
have  just  come  to  New  York,  is  there  not  a  lesson  in  this  story 
for  you  ?  Does  your  employer  ask  you  to  work  on  Sunday  ? 
Take  your  stand  If  God's  law  conliicls  with  man's,  adhere  to 
the  living  God.  He  will  help  you.  You  may  have  promised 
that  loving,  praying  mother  of  yours  that  you  would  not  go  to 
the  theatre.  Are  you  tempted  to  go  ?  Does  some  friend  invite 
you  and  urge  you  to  go  with  him  ?  Take  your  stand.  Learn  to 
say  no.  Yield  with  no  compromise.  It  is  this  miserable,  com- 
promising spirit  that  ruins  so  many.  Supposing  we  of  these 
times  had  been  in  Babylon  when  Daniel  was  tempted.  Why, 
we'd  advised  something  like  this  :  "  Now,  Daniel,  you  know  you 
are  not  in  Jerusalem.  You're  a  poor  heathen  captive  " — now 
here's  the  advice  of  the  Christianity  of  the  nineteenth  century— 
"you're  in  Babylon,  Daniel,  and  do  as  the  people  of  Babylon 
do.  You  know  wine  is  better  than  water,  and  water  won't 
agree  with  you.  The  water  of  the  Euphrates  will  make  you 
sick.  We  know  the  wine  has  been  offered  to  idols,  but  God 
will  wink  at  it  if  you  drink  while  you  are  down  here."  But 
thank  God,  that  man  took  his  stand  and  kept  his  faith. 

The  king  had  a  dream,  and  Daniel  said,  "I'll  tell  the  king  his 
dream  ;  only  give  me  time."  Ah,  see  what  faith  he  had.  He 
knew  that  God  would  keep  him  right.  And  that  night  he 
prayed  long  and  faithfully  that  God  would  reveal  the  secret. 
He  went  to  sleep,  and  had  a  dream,  in  which  God  revealed  the 
secret.  He  arose  and  went  to  the  king,  and  was  asked  if  he  could 
tell  the  dream.  Daniel,  with  the  same  faith  in  God,  said  that  his 
God  was  able  ;  and  gave  God  all  the  glory.  He  told  the  king 
what  he  had  dreamed,  how  his  Chaldean  kingdom  would  be 


43S  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

overthrown  and  divided,  how  Greeks  and  Romans  and  others 
would  overrun  it  and  divide  its  possessions.  "  That's  my  dream," 
said  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  an  edict  went  forth  making  Daniel  a 
ruler  among  the  mighty.  But  another  trial  came.  The  king 
ordered  his  image  to  be  set  up  on  the  plains.  There  are  three 
men  who  will  not  bow  down  to  it.  They  are  Shadrach,  Ale- 
shach,  and  Abed-nego.  And  the  king  is  very  angry,  and  or- 
dered the  furnace  to  be  heated  ten  times  hotter.  And  when 
they  came  forth  with  not  so  much  as  a  hair  of  their  heads 
burned,  another  edict  went  forth  that  any  man  who  said  any- 
thing against  the  God  of  Shadrach  shall  incur  the  wrath  of  the 
king.     Young  man.  will  you  take  your  stand  as  those  men  did .? 

"Ah,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "the  time  is  up;  just  made  a  be- 
ginning. I'll  finish  it  next  Sunday  morning.  Mr.  Sankey  will 
now  sing  '  Dare  to  be  a  Daniel.  '  " 

Noticeable  features  in  all  of  Mr.  Moody's  preaching  are  the 
depth  of  feeling  and  abundance  of  ideas  which  he  seems  unable 
to  express.  Many  times  he  suffers  under  very  strong  emotions, 
and  his  thoughts  come  so  fast,  and  sometimes  in  such  confused 
forms,  that  he  is  wholly  unable  to  find  relief  in  words.  Last 
evening  he  was  more  deeply  moved  than  he  has  ever  been  be- 
fore since  he  came  to  New  York.  His  theme  was  the  compas- 
sion of  Christ,  and  was  more  capable  than  almost  any  other  of 
producing  such  an  effect  upon  him.  "  Go  with  me,"  he  said, 
*'  up  Mount  Calvary  to-night  to  where  the  Son  of  God  hangs 
between  two  thieves,  and  before  the  Roman  centurion  smites 
Him  in  the  side  with  a  spear,  hear  Him  say  '  Father  forgive 
them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do.'  "  He  also  referred  to  the 
Saviour  weeping  over  Jerusalem,  and  said  that  wherever  He 
saw  human  suffering  "  the  great  heart  of  the  Son  of  God  was 
moved  with  compassion."  "  Won't  you  receive  him,"  he  asked 
in  almost  piteous  tones,  "  and  do  you  see  no  beauty  in  him 
that  you  like  }  "  Turning  to  several  gentlemen  in  the  pulpit 
he  called  them  by  name  and  said,  "  Didn't  you  come  here 
in  Ciirisl's  name  .^ "  and  being  answered  in  the  affirmative, 
he  faced  the  audience  and  leaned  over  the  railing,  saying  in  a 
half-weeping  voice,  "Ah,  the  Son  of  God  is  here  to-night.     Do 


THE   WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW   YORK.  439 

you  doubt  it  ?  "  Near  the  close  of  this  discourse  Mr.  Moody 
pointed  toward  a  young  man  in  the  audience  near  the  stage,  and 
said:  "Won't  you  have  Him,  young  man  ?  O,  won't  you  have 
Him  to-night  ?  "  *'  Yes,"  came  the  reply.  "  Well,  thank  God," 
said  the  evangelist ;  "  we've  been  praying  for  that  young  man 
two  or  three  days.'' 

Mr.  Moody  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  services  with  the 
young  men,  as  is  his  custom.  He  is  very  much  gratified  at  the 
success  of  the  work  among  the  young  men,  and  he  always  exerts 
himself  with  an  unusual  degree  of  zeal  whenever  holding  meet- 
ings for  them.  The  interest  among  them  seems  to  be  con- 
stantly deepening  ;  new  converts  are  obtained  every  night,  and, 
from  the  remarks  they  make  in  the  meeting,  it  is  evident  that  a 
deep  religious  feeling  is  rapidly  spreading  among  them. 

The  inquiry-room  is  the  place  where  the  real  harvests  of  the 
revival  work  are  gathered,  and  of  these  the  public  know  and 
always  will  know  a  very  imperfect  part.  Great  crowds  at  the 
meetings,  nearly  all  the  city  ministers  interested  in  the  work, 
forcible  and  affecting  sermons,  these  are  features  of  the  evan- 
gelists' labors  which  the  public  can  see  and  about  which  it  can 
read.  But  the  quiet  of  the  inquiry-room,  where  groups  of  men 
and  women  are  communing  with  each  other  in  silent  prayer  or 
in  conversation  subdued  to  a  whisper,  and  which  constitute  the 
best  and  most  trustworthy  tests  of  the  influence  exerted,  no  one 
can  thoroughly  appreciate  or  accurately  estimate.  Several 
times  yesterday  Mr.  Moody  referred  to  the  meeting  for  young 
men  on  the  evening  before  as  the  most  remarkable  he  had  yet 
seen,  and  Mr.  Moody  is  not  a  man  who  often  speaks  from  the 
pulpit  of  the  progress  of  his  efforts.  But  others  also  bear  wit- 
ness to  a  marvellous  work  among  the  unconverted,  and  say  they 
never  saw  anything  like  it  in  their  lives  before.  Last  evening 
when  the  sermon  was  finished  the  men  were  requested  to  retire 
to  the  small  hall  for  a  meeting  there  to  last  forty-five  minutes. 
Nearly  all  the  men  present  did  so  while  the  choir  sang  "  I  need 
Thee  every  hour."  Those  who  went  into  the  small  hall  repre- 
sented all  ages,  from  boys  of  fifteen  years  to  men  with  grey  hair 
and  infirm  step.     Some  showed  marked  evidence  of  anxiety  in 


440  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

iheir  faces ;  there  were  none  who  were  not  in  a  serious  mood  j 
many  joined  in  singing  the  hymn  as  they  passed  through  the 
aisles.  The  ladies  remained  in  the  large  room,  and  Mr. 
Sankey  led  the  meeting,  Mr.  IVIoody  going  with  the  men.  In  the 
meantime«everal  anxious  persons  went  into  the  inquiry  rooms,  and 
as  the  meetings  went  on  the  number  was  continually  augmented 
until  the  spacious  apartments  were  filled  to  their  capacity. 

About  two  thousand  persons  assembled  in  the  Madison  ave- 
nue hall  at  four  o'clock,  and  Mr.  Moody  was  to  address  the 
meeting  on  the  subject  '•  How  to  Deal  with  Inquirers."  The 
majority  of  those  present  was  composed  of  the  members  of  dif- 
ferent evangelical  churches.  Mr.  Moody  said  that  those  who 
want  Christ  can  be  divided  into  four  classes  : — First,  professing 
Christians ;  second,  those  who  think  others  are  worse  than  they ; 
third,  the  backsliders,  and  fourth,  those  who  are  completely 
broken  down  in  sin.  There  are  a  great  many  who  when  called 
upon  will  tell  you  that  he  is  a  good  enough  Christian,  that  he 
don't  beat  his  wife,  he  does  not  do  innumerable  things  that 
other  men  do.  That  is  very  often  because  he  has  had 
more  light  than  other  men  have  had,  not  any  thing  of  him- 
self. That  is  the  feeling  of  self-righteousness,  and  such  men 
are  the  hardest  to  talk  to,  because  they  think  they  know  every- 
thing themselves;  but  they  can  be  reached,  and  I  have  seen 
more  than  one  of  that  kind  go  out  of  the  inquiry  room  a  hum- 
bler and  a  wiser  man.  Then  the  third  class,  the  backsliders. 
,They  can  be  talked  to.  Just  read  to  them  Jeremiah,  chapter 
a—"  I  will  heal  the  backslider ;  I  will  love  him  freely."  That 
is  enough.  Let  a  man  believe  in  Christ  and  accept  His  word. 
All  he  has  to  do  is  to  study  the  Bible,  and  each  will  find  some- 
thing api)licable  to  his  want.  The  broken  down  sinner  can  be 
reached,  because,  Christ  who  saved  the  thief  on  the  cross,  has 
promised  to  help  all  who  call  on  Him.  What  I  want  to  impress 
on  you  is  that,  to  bring  men  to  Christ,  all  that  is  necessary  is 
to  know,  fi;el,  understand  and  be  able  to  explain  the  Word  of 
God.  The  meeting  concluded  with  the  singing  of  the  hymn, 
*Work  -n  my  vineyard;  there  is  plenty  to  do." 


the  work  of  grace  in  new  york.  441 

Drawing  Water  out  of   the   Wells  of  Salvaiion. 

After  the  singing  of  the  Seventy-first  hymn  Mr.  Moody  preached 
on  the  subject  of  the  day — "Joy."  He  said  : — I  doubt  a  man's 
conversion  who  has  not  joy.  If  a  man  who  thought  he  was 
converted  last  night  told  me  he  had  not  joy  I  should  not  believe 
in  his  thorough  conviction.  There  is  the  backslider's  prayer, 
*'  Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation."  The  way  to  keep 
that  joy  is  to  study  the  Word  and  work.  When  the  word  is 
thoroughly  studied  by  you  then  give  it  out.  People  say,  '  why  is 
it  that  so  many  ministers  break  down  ? '  Some  think  it  is  over- 
work. It  is  nothing  of  the  kind  ;  it  is  fretting.  They  have  not 
joy,  for  the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  thy  strength.  With  joy  you  shall 
draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation.  There  are  three  kinds 
of  joy  in  the  Bible — the  joy  of  finding  Christ,  the  joy  of  seeing 
others  converted,  and  the  joy  that  John  speaks  of — the  joy  of 
seeing  the  disciples  walking  in  truth.  Let  us  read  John  xv.,  n. 
*'  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you  that  my  joy  might  remain 
in  you."  When  we  have  joy  how  easy  it  is  to  go  out  and  bring 
souls.  If  we  have  joy  bubbling  up  in  our  hearts  all  the  world 
can  see  it.  It  is  not  our  sermons  that  convert  men,  it  is  our 
lives.  Mr.  Sankey  sung  the  iioth  hymn,  commencing,  "Joy  to 
the  world,  the  day  is  come,"  the  whole  congregation  joining  in. 

After  the  singing  one  of  the  converted  recited  his  experience. 
He  said  : — Strange  as  it  may  appear  to  many  of  you  present,  a 
few  weeks  ago  I  was  unhappy,  but  since  then  I  have  found  that 
joy.  About  three  weeks  ago  I  thought  of  coming  to  New  York. 
I  live  one  thousand  miles  away.  My  family  tried  to  persuade 
me  not  to,  but  I  felt  some  power  drawing  me  to  this  city  ;  the 
same  power  brought  me  to  this  building  and  so  to  the 
inquiry  room.  I  met  a  gentleman  from  Boston  and  we  walked 
together  to  the  St.  Nicholas  Hotel,  and  he  talked  to  me  of 
Christ.  The  next  day  I  went  to  the  inquiry  room  and  Mr. 
Moody  introduced  me  to  a  lady,  whose  look  of  internal  joy 
and  benev)lence  struck  me.  She  talked  to  me  for  a  long  time. 
The  next  day  I  came  again  and  I  found  this  lady  working  with 
two  other  young  men,  and  the  look  of  holy  joy  on  her  face 


442  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

could  not  be  mistaken.  That  night  I  went  home  and  prayed, 
and  that  ni>;ht  I  became  a  Christian. 

Rev.  Charles  F.  Deems  followed.  He  took  for  his  text, 
"  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant ;  enter  into  the  joy 
of  thy  Lord."  He  said  : — There  is  no  use,  my  friend,  when  we 
have  once  found  the  joy  of  the  Lord  that  we  should  relapse  into 
dyspeptic  wretchedness.  We  can  find  the  joy  while  we  are  here 
on  earth,  and  we  can  keep  it,  for  there  is  even  joy  in  sorrow  if 
we  put  our  full  trust  in  God,  firmly  believing  that  in  all  emer- 
gencies we  can  rely  on  Him,  and  never  in  vain.  This  habit  of 
looking  back  into  the  little  petty  cares  and  troubles  of  this  world, 
when  we  have  so  much  to  look  forward  to — it  is  foolish.  Let 
us  shout  out  for  the  Lord,  and  with  all  our  banners  flying.  Let 
us  use  all  our  gifts  to  praise  Him  ;  our  eloquence,  our  wits,  our 
honor,  our  musical  gifts — all  our  talents  in  the  furtherance  of 
His  work.  Let  the  world  see  in  our  face  the  joy  that  is  in 
our  heart. 

Mr.  Sankey  then  rose  to  sing  the  hymn  "  Joy  and  Sorrow," 
but  before  doing  so  said  that  the  words  of  Dr.  Deems  struck  a 
key-note,  that  Christians  ought  not  to  have  such  long  faces  and 
look  as  if  they  were  predestined  for  some  awful  fate,  instead  ol 
being  intended  to  enter  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord  forever.  A 
smiling  face,  a  pleasing  address,  or  a  kind,  thoughtful  solicitude 
brings  more  souls  to  God  than  a  long  dyspeptic  face  with  ever 
so  much  preaching.  Mr.  Sankey  continued  at  some  length  on 
this  subject,  and  concluded  by  singing  the  above  mentioned  hymn. 
Dr.  Hepworth  delivered  a  short  address,  in  which  he  said 
that  Monday  was  generally  a  gloomy  day  among  preachers,  but 
this  morning  he  felt  like  shouting  *'  Glory,  Hallelujah."  There 
were  about  thirty  to  thirty-five  names  read  for  entrance  into 
his  church,  and  of  those  only  two  came  with  letters  of  introduc- 
tion ;  the  others  came  by  profession,  and  right  out  of  the  world, 
and  I  think,  said  he,  1  can  see  written  over  the  signature  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  the  initials  of  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey.  Among 
these  there  is  one  incident  I  would  like  to  mention.  Some 
years  ago,  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine  to-day  was  engaged  to  be 
married  to  a  very  beautiful  girl.     As  he  looked  into  the  future 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  443 

he  had  everything  that  heart  could  desire  ;  money,  grand  busi- 
ness prospects,  heahh,  and  in  the  immediate  future  a  wife  and  a 
very  happy  home  indeed.  He  forgot  all  his  past,  and  in  imagin- 
ation he  lived  in  the  castles  which  he  built  in  the  air,  and  every 
castle  had  a  golden  minaret,  for  when  we  build  with  the  imagin- 
ation we  do  not  count  the  cost.  All  at  once,  as  though  a  flash 
of  lightning  had  come  out  of  a  clear,  cloudless  sky,  sickness  fell 
upon  this  lady,  and  she  died  at  once.  The  shock  of  course,  was 
terrible.  He  was  a  man  of  large  heart  and  generous  sympa- 
thies, and  those  are  ihey  who  make  the  best  or  worst  men  in 
the  world.  Your  mean  men  keep  along  an  even  track  an  equal 
distance  from  good  on  the  one  side  and  evil  on  the  other,  but 
when  you  have  generous  men  to  deal  with  they  either  move  on 
the  mountain  top  or  are  thrown  down  into  the  valley.  And  my 
poor  friend,  thrown  down  by  his  despair,  rushed  into  every  sort 
of  dissipation  which  New  York  life  affords,  and  New  York  life 
is  very  rich  in  that  sort  of  material ;  and  he  spent  an  immense 
amount  of  money — nearly  all  he  had.  What  he  wanted  was  for- 
getfulness,  and  he  went  on  from  bad  to  worse  until  he  reached 
low  tide  and  the  mud  of  moral  iniquity  ;  and  one  day  in  the 
midst  of  all  this,  by  one  of  those  instincts  you  and  I  know,  he 
was  led  to  open  the  safe  and  take  from  it  a  little  bundle  con- 
taining a  little  silver  key,  which  he  had  turned  in  the  casket  of 
his  beloved,  and  next  to  it  was  a  tress  of  auburn  hair  ;  and  as 
he  looked  at  them  he  started  back  in  horror  as  he  reflected 
upon  the  gulf  that  now  separated  him  from  her,  and  he  turned 
to  his  friend  and  asked  if  he  thought  he  should  ever  see  her 
again,  and  was  answered  :  "  I  don't  think  you  ever  will.  I 
don't  see  how  you  can.  The  life  you  and  I  have  been  living 
these  last  twelve  months  don't  lead  that  way.  It  leads  down 
the  other  side,  and  you  and  I  can  never  look  a  pure  woman  in 
the  face  again."  And  the  poor  fellow  burst  into  tears,  and  then 
wringing  his  hands  he  cried  :  "  Oh,  I  must  see  her  again,  and  I 
will  meet  her  again  ;  if  there  is  anything  in  religion  by  which  I 
qan  get  rid  of  my  past  life  I  am  going  to  get  rid  of  it,  and  I  am 
going  to  right  about  face,  and  keep  my  face  toward,  and  my  eyes 
upon  our  home.     And  if  she  is  in  heaven,  I  am  going  there  too." 


444  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IX    AMERICA. 

And  in  due  course  lie  came  to  see  me,  and  wrung  my  hand  in  a 
way  I  cannot  describe,  but  there  was  great  resolution  in  his 
heart  ;  and  last  Sunday  morning,  with  the  memory  of  that 
golden  tress  and  silver  key,  George,  for  that  was  his  name,  joined 
my  church,  and  being  asked  if  he  would  like  to  go  back  to  the 
past,  he  exclaimed,  "  I  have  found  a  home,  and  I  cannot  go  back 
to  despair,"  and  he  is  marching  on  that  journey  to-night  to  the 
tune  of  glory,  glory,  hallelujah.     Thank  God  for  that. 

Mr.  Haight  said:  About  four  years  ago  I  was  a  confirmed 
DRUNKARD,  but  onc  day  I  went  into  the  Water  Street  Mission 
House,  without  a  shirt  or  a  pair  of  shoes,  and  there  I  knelt  down 
and  prayed  God  to  help  me  to  overcome  my  terrible  sin,  and 
blessed  be  God,  I  am  to-day  a  new  man.  Before  I  went  to 
the  mission  I  had  taken  pledges  and  formed  resolutions,  but 
they  were  of  no  avail ;  I  only  fell  back  into  my  former  state.  But 
when  I  trusted  all  to  God,  I  was  able  to  resist,  and  I  can  to-day 
say,  that  He  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost.  Then  followed 
addresses  by  Mr.  Sawyer  and  Mr.  Bunting,  two  other  reformed 
drunkards,  Mr.  Sawyer  likening  the  inquiry-rooms  to  the  pool 
of  Bethesda. 

The  hymn  "Waiting  and  Watching  "  was  sung  by  Mr.  Sankey  ; 
and  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  D.  Foss  said  : 

A  traveler  in  an  African  desert,  weary,  foot-sore,  exhausted, 
rushed  down  into  a  little  gully  where  he  found  a  little  water  to 
slake  his  thirst,  coming  up  on  the  other  side.  He  was  perishing 
of  hunger.  He  spied  a  little  script  in  which  something  was 
carefully  wrapped.  He  said  to  himself,  *'  Some  one  who  has 
preceded  me  has  left  a  little  bread  to  save  the  life  of  the  unfor- 
tunate one  who  follows  him."  But  when  he  had  torn  it  open, 
he  threw  it  down,  exclaiming,  "My  God!  It  is  only  pearls." 
Bread  enough  to  sustain  his  life  for  six  hours  would  have  been 
worth  more  than  untold  jewels.  I  bless  God  that  I  have  had 
ever)'  day  since  I  began  to  need  it,  my  daily  bread.  I  went  one 
day  10  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum  on  the  upper  end  of  this  Isl- 
and with  one  of  its  managers,  and  when  I  had  gone  through  it, 
and  my  hcait  hatl  been  touched  with  gratitude,  as  I  saw  what 
tfforts  were  being  made  to  help  those  who  lacked  a  single  sense, 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  445 

r  asked  the  superintendent  how  many  of  those  poor  people, 
after  eight  or  ten  years  of  training,  were  able  to  read  with  in- 
telligence and  appreciation  the  columns  of  a  newspaper  or  an 
ordinary  book.  He  told  me  not  one  in  ten,  and  I  came  away 
blessing  God  that  I  had  the  sense  of  hearing  and  all  my  senses 
and  faculties. 

I  recollect  when  I  was  sixteen  years  old,  and  my  father  lay 
dying  ;  when  he  gathered  his  four  sons  around  him  and  gave 
them  his  dying  charge  and  blessing,  in  the  course  of  which  he 
spoke  these  words  :  "  My  son,  know  thou  the  God  of  thy  father, 
and  serve  him  with  a  perfect  heart  and  a  willing  mind.  If  thou 
seekest  Him,  He  will  cherish  thee ;  but  if  thou  forsakest  Him, 
He  will  cast  thee  out  forever."  Then  he  went  home,  and  my 
brothers  are  there,  too,  and  I  am  on  the  way. 

Last  summer  one  of  the  brightest  girls  in  my  Sunday-school 
class  sickened  and  felt  she  was  to  die.  Calling  her  Christian 
father  to  her  bedside,  she  said,  "  Father,  tell  me  exactly  what 
it  is  to  be  a  real  Christian."  Her  father  told  her,  and  then  she 
said,  "  But  suppose  you  do  love  Jesus  and  believe  in  Him,  but 
are  afraid  there  is  still  some  sin  in  your  heart,  what  then?" 
'^Cast  it  all  on  Jesus,"  said  the  father.  Then  she  said,  "  Fath- 
er, kneel  down  and  pray  beside  me."  And  he  knelt  down  and 
prayed  as  only  a  Christian  father  at  the  death-bed  of  his  only 
child  can  pray.  Then  she  looked  up  and  said,  "  Now  it  is  all 
right,  and  I  am  ready  to  go."  And  she  lay  there  for  three  weeks 
in  the  very  light  of  Heaven,  and  then  left  us  for  the  perfect  day. 

For  all  these  things  I  thank  God,  and  thousands  here  to-night 
will  join  me  in  this  thanksgiving.  By  prayer  and  supplication 
and  thanksgiving  may  your  requests  be  made  known  unto  God, 
especially  in  your  troubles  here  to-night.  There  are  multitudes 
broken-hearted  treading  the  thorny  path,  knowing  not  what  to 
do.  Let  me  tell  you,  go  down  on  your  knees  and  say,  "  Oh 
God,  1  thank  thee  " — and  trust  that  he  will  help  you  finish  the 
sentence — you  will  find  something  to  praise  him  for,  and  your 
prayei  will  find  answer. 

Mr.  Sankey  said :  In  about  the  eighth  or  tenth  seat  here  one 
evening  sat  a  little  girl.     It  was  at  the  prayer-meeting  at  the 


446  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

conclusion  of  the  preaching  services.  Our  friends  on  the  plat- 
form here  discovered  a  beautiful  little  girl  sitting  there  very 
deeply  interested  in  talking  to  a  little  companion  that  was  with 
her.  They  seemed  to  become  so  interested  that  one  of  the  la- 
dies went  down  from  the  platform  to  sit  by  them  and  listen  and 
see  what  the  little  one  was  saying.  The  dear  child,  she  found, 
was  preaching  Jesus  Christ,  telling  how  much  Jesus  loved  her, 
and  how  much  she  loved  Jesus,  and  asking  this  little  one  if  she 
would  not  become  his  disciple.  The  lady  said  to  her,  ^'  I  think 
if  that  little  girl  shall  speak  a  word  for  the  Son  of  God  in  this 
dark  city,  shall  I  remain  idle  any  more  ?  By  God's  grace  I  will 
speak  to  somebody  to-night."  And  she  v;ent  right  to  work  and 
found  an  anxious  soul  in  this  very  place,  and  spoke  about  the 
Lord  Jesus  that  night  for  the  first  time  in  her  life.  So  "  A  lit- 
tle child  shall  lead  them."  When  the  word  of  God  is  preached 
these  little  ones  can  be  led  to  Jesus  as  well  as  the  larger  ones. 
I  said,  "Thank  God  that  while  the  lady  workers  are  gathering 
in,  the  little  children,  too,  are  at  work,  bringing  souls  to  Jesus 
Christ."  These  things  I  am  glad  of.  I  am  glad,  too,  and  praise 
Him  because  of  the  blessing  that  He  has  brought  down  upon  our 
service  of  song.  I  could  stand  here  until  to-morrow  morning,  I 
think,  and  tell  you  of  instances  precious  to  my  heart  where  the 
singing  of  these  simple  Gospel  hymns  had  been  the  means  in 
God's  hand  of  awakening  an  interest  in  souls,  and  of  hundreds 
that  have  been  led  through  this  instriiVnentality  to  take  the  first 
step  toward  Jesus. 

Said  Mr.  Moody :  O,  sinner,  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus  to  save 
you,  and  he  will  do  it.  Here  is  a  man  who  has  tried  to  stop 
swearing  many  a  time  and  failed,  haven't  you }  You  have  tried 
to  stop  drinking  many  a  time  and  failed,  haven't  you  ?  You 
have  tried  to  keep  down  your  temper  many  a  time  and  failed, 
haven't  you  ?  It  was  failure  all  the  time.  Now,  I  want  you  to 
give  all  your  efforts  up  and  just  fall  right  into  the  arms  of  a  lov- 
ing Lord  and  trust  him  to  do  it.  O  how  quickly  it  will  be  done 
if  you  only  let  iiim  come  into  the  heart.  There  will  be  no  trou- 
ble. If  the  fountain  is  only  right,  the  stream  will  be  pure.  I 
was  prcaciiing  some  lime  ago  in  a  little  town  in  Illinois,  in  the 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW   YORK.  447 

open  air.  Crowds  came  out  every  night  to  the  meeting.  A 
gentleman  constantly  drove  up  in  a  beautiful  carriage,  and  with 
a  cigar  in  his  mouth  always  remained  listening  until  the  preach- 
ing was  over,  and  then  he  would  drive  away.  I  asked  who 
he  was.  They  told  me  he  was  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in 
that  place.  I  said,  "  I  noticed  him  to-night  weeping."  They 
laughed  at  the  idea.  "Weeping,"  they  said;  "O  if  you  were 
only  to  hear  the  report  he  gives  of  your  work."  "  I  don't  can^ 
if  he  is  what  you  say,"  I  said,  "the  man  is  interested."  I 
heard  that 

He  was  the  profanest  man  in  that  whole  country,  that  he 
cursed  the  very  wife  of  his  bosom,  and  that  he  even  used  very 
profane  language  before  his  children.  I  thought,  however,  I 
would  go  to  see  him.  People  advised  me  not — they  thought  it 
would  hurt  my  feelings.  But  I  went  up  and  stood  and  waited 
just  as  he  was  coming  out  of  his  front  gate.  "  This  is  Mr.  P.  ? ' 
I  said.  "  Yes,  that  is  my  name  ;  what  do  you  want .?  "  he  said. 
He  knew  me  very  well.  "  I  want  to  ask  you  a  question  if  you 
have  no  objection,"  I  said.  "What  is  it  ? "  he  said  in  a  gruff 
way.  "  I  am  told,"  I  said,  "  that  you  have  more  wealth  than 
any  man  in  this  part  of  the  country.  God  has  blessed  you  with 
great  wealth  and  with  a  nice  family  and  much  comfort,  and  all 
He  has  received  from  you  is  that  you  curse  Him  and  blaspheme 
Him.  Why  treat  Him  in  that  way  ?  "  Tears  came  trickling 
down  his  cheeks,  and  he  says  •'  Come  in,  come  in."  When  I 
had  sat  down,  he  said  :  "  The  fact  is,  Mr.  Moody,  if  I  have  tried 
once  I  have  tried  a  thousand  times  to  stop  swearing.  I  am  so 
ashamed  of  myself  sometimes  I  can't  hold  my  head  up.  There 
is  no  hope  for  me.  I  can't  stop  it."  I  said  :  "  I  know  you 
can't,  but  you  can  trust  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  He  will 
stop  it  for  you."  He  thought  there  was  no  chance  for  him. 
"Why,  my  dear  friend,"  I  said,  "  He  just  came  to  do  that  verv 
thing,  to  give  you  power  to  overcome  sin.  If  you  will  only 
come  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  there  will  be  no  trouble.  All 
you  want  is  to  let  Him  in."  I  got  down  and  prayed  with  him, 
and  he  then  asked  me  what  I  would  advise  him  to  do.  "  I  tell 
you,  what  you'll  do,"  I  said,  "  Go  up  to  the  church  prayer-meet- 


4  \S  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

ing  and  ask  them  to  pray  for  you."  He  wouldirt  go,  he  never 
was  in  the  ciuirch.  "Though  tliere  miy  be  bad  things  said 
against  them,"  I  said,  "  they  are  the  very  best  friends  you  have 
got.  Get  up  and  tell  them  you  want  them  to  pray  that  God 
will  save  your  soul."  The  next  morning  in  the  prayer-meeting 
who  should  come  in  but  this  wealthy  man  !  He  put  his  hand  on 
the  back  of  the  seat  where  I  sat.  and  I  felt  it  tremble.  "  My 
friends,"  he  said,  "  If  God  can  save  a  poor  wretch  like  me  will 
you  pray  Him  for  me?  "  Inside  of  a  year  he  became  an  elder 
there,  and  is  a  bright  and  shining  light  in  that  church  now. 
O,  sinner,  it  will  be  failure,  failure,  failure,  until  you  accept  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  when  you  do  He  will  save  you.  You 
haven't  got  to  go  home  to  ask  God  for  salvation. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  subject  in'the  Bible  that  takes  hold  of 
me  with  as  great  force  as  this  subject  of  the  wandering  sinner. 
It  enters  deeply  into  my  own  life.  It  conies  right  home  into 
our  own  family.  The  first  thing  1  remember  was  the  death  of 
my  father.  It  was  a  beautiful  day  in  June  when  he  fell  sud- 
denly dead.  The  shock  made  such  an  impression  on  me,  young 
as  I  was,  that  I  shall  never  forget  it.  I  remember  nothing 
about  the  funeral,  but  his  death  has  made  a  lasting  impression 
upon  me.  The  next  thing  that  I  remember  was  that  my  mother 
was  taken  very  sick.  And  the  next  thing  that  occurred  in  our  fam- 
ily that  impressed  itself  on  my  young  mind  was  that  my  eldest 
brother,  to  whom  my  mother  looked  up  to  comfort  her  in  her 
loneliness  and  in  great  affliction,  became  a  wanderer — he  left 
home.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  that  mother  mourned  for  her 
boy — how  she  waited  day  by  day  and  month  by  month  for  his 
return.  I  need  not  say  how  night  after  night  she  watched  and 
wept  and  prayed.  Many  a  time  we  were  told  to  go  to  the  post- 
office  to  see  if  a  letter  had  not  come  from  him.  But  we  had  to 
bring  back  the  sorrowful  words,  "  No  letter  yet,  mother." 
Many  a  time  have  I  waked  up  and  heard  my  mother  pray : 
"  Oh,  God,  bring  back  my  boy  !  "  Many  a  time  did  she  lift 
her  heart  up  to  God  In  prayer  for  her  boy.  When  the  wintry 
gale  wDuld  blow  around  the  house,  and  the  storm  rage 
without  the  door,  her  dear  face  would  wear  a  terribly  anxious 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK..  449 

look,  and  she  would  utter  in  piteous  tones,  "  Oh,  my  dear  boy  ; 
perhaps  he  is  now  on  the  ocean  this  fearful  night.  Oh,  God 
preserve  him  !  "  We  would  sit  around  the  fireside  of  an  even- 
ing and  ask  her  to  tell  us  about  our  fiither,  and  she  would  talk 
for  hours  about  him.  But  if  the  mention  of  my  eldest  brother 
should  chance  to  come  in,  then  all  would  be  hushed  ;  she  never 
spoke  of  him  but  with  tears.  Many  a  time  did  she  try  to  con- 
ceal them,  but  all  would  be  in  vain,  and  when  Thanksgiving 
Day  would  come,  a  chair  used  to  be  set  for  him.  Our  friends 
and  neighbors  gave  him  up,  but  our  mother  had  faith  that  she 
would  see  him  again.  One  day  in  the  middle  of  summer  a 
stranger  was  seen  approaching  the  house.  He  came  up  on  the 
east  piazza  and  looked  upon  my  mother  through  the  window. 
The  man  had  a  long  beard,  and  when  my  mother  first  saw  him 
she  did  not  start  or  rise.  But  when  she  saw  the  great  tears 
trickling  down  his  cheeks  she  cried,  "  It's  my  boy,  my  dear, 
dear  boy,"  and  sprang  to  the  window.  But  there  the  boy  stood 
and  said,  "Mother,  I  will  never  cross  the  threshold  until  you 
say  you  forgive  me."  Do  you  think  he  had  to  stay  there  long  ? 
No,  no.  Her  arms  were  soon  around  him,  and  she  wept  upon 
his  shoulder,  as  did  the  father  of  the  prodigal  son.  I  heard  of 
it  while  in  a  distant  city,  and  what  a  thrill  of  joy  shot  through 
me.  But  what  joy  on  earth  can  equal  the  joy  in  Heaven  when 
a  prodigal  comes  home  !  This  night  your  father  wants  you. 
Dear  son,  come  to  Him.  Confess  your  sin,  and  He  will  have 
mercy  upon  you  and  forgive  you.  May  Heaven's  blessing  rest 
upon  every  soul  here  is  my  prayer. 

A  Month  of  Grace. 

The  vast  swelling  throngs  surge  in  and  around  the  Hippodrome , 
and  to  accommodate  people  from  out  of  town  who  could  not 
stay  to  the  preaching  service  at  night,  Mr.  Moody  consented  at 
the  l)eginning  of  the  fifth  week  to  hold  a  meeting  at  4  p.  m.  and 
preach  the  same  sermon  which  he  delivered  at  night.  The  au- 
dience were  admitted  only  by  tickets,  and  great  numbers  were 
thus  able  to  hear  the  evangelists  and  return  to  their  homes  for 


45©  MOODY    AND    SANKKY    IN    AMERICA. 

the  night.  The  second  month  of  grace  he  grandly  inaugurated 
by  his  sermon  on  The  Blood. 

The  reporter  said  :  for  extreme  care  in  preparation,  for  apt- 
ness and  force  of  illustrations,  and  for  showing  his  great  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible,  this  sermon  was  perhaps  the  most  noteworthy 
that  he  has  yet  delivered  here.  It  is  an  old  sermon  but  it  has 
been  remodeled  and  improved  frequently.  The  evangelist's 
views  in  general  have  usually  escaped  sharp  criticism  even  from 
those  who  are  considered  to  be  the  less  orthodox  followers  of 
Christianity.  But  the  sermon  on  "The  Blood"  invokes  some 
opposition  and  criticism  in  certain  quarters.  Mr.  Moody  antici- 
pated this,  and  meets  the  arguments  of  his  critics  in  his  usual 
blunt  and  direct  way.  In  his  prayer  before  the  sermon  he  said  : 
"  Keep  Thy  servant  from  teaching  any  error,"  When  he  had 
opened  his  remarks  he  referred  to  the  blood,  saying :  "  That 
scarlet  line  began  its  course  way  back  in  Eden,  and  runs  all 
through  the  Bible  ;  it  is  the  scarlet  thread  that  binds  the  leaves." 

The  sermon  was  as  follows  : 

We  have  for  our  subject  to-day,  The  Blood.  I  would  like  to 
call  your  attention  to  a  few  passages  of  Scripture  in  different 
portions  of  the  Word  of  God.  The  first  is  in  the  3d  chapter  of 
Genesis,  21st  verse  :  "  Unto  Adam  also  and  to  his  wife  did  the 
Lord  God  make  coats  of  skins  and  clothed  them."  That  is  the 
first  glimpse  we  have  of  the  shedding  of  blood. 

To  me  it  is  a  very  sweet  thought  that  God  thus  dealt  in  grace 
wi:h  Adam  before  He  dealt  in  government.  Some  people  com- 
plain of  God's  dealing  with  Adam,  that  He  was  very  severe, 
but  you  will  find  God  dealt  in  love  with  him.  Some  one  said. 
He  put  the  lamp  of  promise  into  his  hand  before  he  drove  him 
out  of  Kden.  The  first  thing  was  the  promise  that  the  seed  of 
the  woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head,  and  in  the  very 
same  chapter  we  find  that  God  consented  to  kill  those  innocent 
animals  to  make  coats  of  skins.  Of  course  the  blood  had  to  be 
shed  in  order  to  furnish  those  garments.  As  they  went  out  of 
Eden,  I  think  Adam  might  have  said  to  Eve,  "These  garments 
are  a  token  of  God's  love."  God  clothed  them.  He  put  cher- 
ubim at  the  gate  of  the  garden,  and  a  flaming  sword  to  protect 


THE   WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  451 

the  Tree  of  Life,  that  they  should  not  come  and  eat ;  but  we 
find  when  the  right  time  came  He  took  that  very  sword  and 
opened  the  way  back  to  the  Tree  of  Life,  so  that  we  can  all 
come  to  it  now  if  we  will. 

In  the  4th  chapter  of  Genesis  we  find  the  great  doctrine  of 
tlie  blood  brought  out  :  "  And  Abel,  he  also  brought  of  the 
firstlings  of  his  flock,  and  of  the  fat  thereof,  and  the  Lord  had 
respect  unto  Abel  and  to  his  offering."  In  the  morning  of  cre- 
ation God  had  marked  out  a  way  for  man  to  go.  Abel  took 
God's  way;  Cain  wanted  to  go  his  own  way.  That  is  always 
the  way.  If  you  had  talked  to  Cain,  he  would  have  said,  "  I 
do  not  know  why  the  fruit  of  the  earth  should  not  be  more  ac- 
ceptable to  God  than  the  blood  of  the  lamb.  I  do  not  under- 
stand why  any  one  should  bring  blood  for  an  offering  ;  I  am 
sure  the  ripened  grain  would  be  more  acceptable  to  God  than 
blood  ;  I  have  a  dislike  for  the  very  name  of  blood."  You  will 
find  the  world  is  full  of  Cainites  and  Abelites  to-day.  Some 
want  to  go  to  God  in  their  way,  and  some  wish  to  go  to  Him  in 
His  own  way.  The  man  who  goes  in  his  own  way  gets  no  life  ; 
it  is  all  darkness  until  he  goes  in  God's  w^ay.  "  Abel  also  brought 
of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock,  and  of  the  fat  thereof,  and  the  Lord 
had  respect  unto  Abel."  He  was  a  very  religious  man,  but  re- 
ligion is  one  thing  and  coming  to  God  in  His  way  is  another. 
There  are  a  great  many  who  are  very  religious,  and  yet  they  do 
not  like  to  go  in  God's  way.  There  is  no  doctrine  in  the  Old 
Bible  written  and  spoken  against  so  much  as  this  very  doctrine 
of  the  blood.  From  the  time  that  Abel  came  with  his  bleeding 
lamb,  man  has  disliked  it.  It  shows  how  deceitful  the  heart  is, 
that  we  do  not  like  to  go  in  God's  way.  These  men  had  been 
brought  up  with  the  same  surroundings.  Up  to  this  time  we 
see  no  difference  between  the  two  men  as  to  education,  and  yet 
there  is  a  ver)'  great  difference  between-  their  offerings.  God 
accepted  Abel's  offering  and  did  not  accept  Cain's,  and  conse- 
quently sin  rose  up  in  Cain's  heart,  and  envy  and  hatred  and 
malice,  and  he  rose  up  and  slew  his  brother.  Sin  leaped  into 
the  world  full  grown  at  one  leap.  The  first-born  was  a  mur- 
derer.    When  Abel  first  got  to  heaven  and  sang  the  song  of 


^^2  MOODY    AND    SANKKV    IN    AMERICA. 

redemption,  there  must  have  been  but  one  soul  in  heaven  when 
he  came  there  alone,  that  could  sing  it.  The  angels  could  not 
ioin  him,  and  they  must  have  heard  it  with  surprise  ;  but  that 
chorus  has  been  swelling  ever  since  that  time,  swelling  for  the 
last  si.x  thousand  years.  The  first  man  who  went  to  heaven 
had  brought  a  bleeding  lamb  and  put  the  blood  thereof  between 
him  and  his  sin.  ^ 

Will  you  look  at  the  8th  chapter  of  Romans-?  "  And  Noah 
builded  an  altar  unto  the  Lord,  and  took  of  every  clean  beast, 
and  of  every  clean  fowl,  and  offered  burnt  offerings  on  the  altar." 
It  was  so  important  that  he  should  have  blood  put  between  him 
and  his  sin  that  God  had  him  to  take  clean  animals  for  a  sacri- 
fice. We  find  that  the  first  two  thousand  years  men  were  trav- 
eling by  that  highway.  Way  back  there  in  Eden  the  scarlet 
line  commences  its  course.  You  will  find  it  running  all  through 
the  Bible  ;  you  take  it  out  of  the  Bible  and  you  take  out  all  that 
book  teaches.  Those  men  who  are  trying  to  destroy  that  pre- 
cious doctrine  are  at  sea  without  sail  ;  they  do  not  know  where 
they  are.  You  cannot  take  up  a  place  in  Scripture  but  you 
find  the  scarlet  thread  running  through  it.  If  you  turn  over  to 
the  22d  chapter  of  Genesis,  you  will  find  the  story  of  Isaac's 
sacrifice.  Abraham  went  in  God's  way.  In  the  13th  verse  it 
is  said,  "And  Abraham  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  looked,  and  be- 
hold, behind  him  a  ram  caught  in  the  thicket  by  his  horns, 
and  Abraham  went  and  took  the  ram  and  offered  him  up 
for  a  burnt  offering  instead  of  his  son."  There  the  doctrine 
of  the  blood  is  foreshadowed  again.  On  that  mountain  we 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  blood  ;  on  Mount  Moriah,  which  was 
close  to  Mount  Calvary,  where  Christ  was  crucified — look  at 
that  scene  ! 

For  twenty-five  long  years  Abraham  had  been  looking  for 
that  boy,  and  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  God  gave  him  Isaac. 
How  he  must  have  doted  upon  his  boy  !  One  night  God  said 
to  him,  a  few  years  after,  "  Abraham,  take  your  son  and  go  up 
to  the  mountain  that  I  will  show  you,  and  offer  him  there  as  a 
sacrifice."  He  did  not  offer  objections  and  ask  why  God  had 
ordered  il.     God   had   told  him  to  have  faith  in  Him,  and  with- 


u  ■ 

THE    WORK   OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  453 

out  consulting  any  one,  not  even  his  wife,  he  saddled  an  ass  and 
took  his  son  and  told  his  wife  that  he  was  going  up  to  a  moun- 
tain. He  took  the  wood  for  a  fire,  and  a  knife  and  his  son,  and 
away  he  went.  I  can  imagine  that  father's  feelings.  He  said 
to  himself,  ''  I  do  not  understand  it,  but  I  know  that  God  never 
makes  any  mistake.  He  never  has  told  me  to  do  anything  but 
that  it  has  brought  honor  and  glory  to  His  own  name."  I  can 
imagine  how  the  old  man  looked  at  the  boy  as  he  lay  sleeping. 
He  said,  "In  a  little  while  my  boy  will  be  gone."  I  can  see 
the  tears  on  the  old  man's  face  as  he  gazed  at  him  on  that  first 
night.  On  the  second  night  I  can  see  there  was  a  struggle  go- 
ing on  within  him  as  he  thought,  ^'  I  will  only  have  this  lovely 
boy  one  night  more."  The  third  day  comes,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing he  lifts  up  his  eyes,  and  over  yonder  is  Mount  Moriah,  and 
he  says  to  the  two  young  men  who  are  with  him,  "  You  stay  here, 
and  Isaac  and  myself  will  go  yonder  and  worship."  They  had 
the  wood,  they  had  the  knife,  but  the  lamb  they  had  not.  On 
the  way  up  that  mountain  the  boy  said  to  the  father,  "  Father, 
where  is  the  sacrifice  ?  We  have  no  lamb."  And  the  fiithcr 
said,  and  it  seemed  prophetic,  "The  Lord  will  provide  a  lamb." 
And  so  he  did  in  the  fullness  of  time,  the  Son  of  His  own  bosom. 
"My  son,  the  Lord  will  provide  a  lamb  for  a  sacrifice,"  and  on 
they  went.  The  two  worked  together  and  built  the  altar,  rolled 
up  the  stones  and  put  wood  on  them.  When  everything  was 
ready  I  can  imagine  how  the  old  man  told  his  child  that  the 
Lord  had  told  him  to  take  his  boy  and  offer  him  up  as  a  sacri- 
fice, and  after  that  they  embraced  and  wept  together.  The  old 
man  binds  his  boy  and  puts  him  on  that  altar  ;  he  takes  the 
knife  and  is  ready  to  drive  it  to  the  heart  of  his  child  ;  he  is  re- 
solved to  make  quick  work  of  it,  but  even  while  his  hand  is 
lifted  there  is  a  voice  from  Heaven,  "Abraham,  Abraham, 
spare  thy  son  !  "  God  so  loved  him  that  he  spared  his  son,  but 
He  so  loved  you  and  me  that  he  gave  His  own  son  for  us  all. 
There  was  no  voice  heard  at  Calvary  saying,  "  Spare  my  i^on." 
No  angel  came  and  took  Him  from  the  Cross  ;  but  He  gave  Him 
up  for  us.  And  when  Abraham  looked  .iround  him,  lo  !  there 
was  a  ram  caught  in  a  thicket,  and  he  took  the   ram   and  slew 


454 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


him  and  offered  him  up  for  a  burnt  offering— and  then  was  that 
scarlet  thread  trickling  down  Mount Moriah. 

That  was  typical  of  God's  own  Son.  We  are  told  that  when 
Abraham  was  on  Mount  Moriah  God  promised  him  that  through 
his  seed  all  nations  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed.  Abraham 
walked  by  way  of  the  blood.  There  is  no  other  way.  You  can 
not  find  any  of  God's  chidren  that  have  walked  any  other  way. 
In  Exodus,  twelfth  chapter  and  thirteenth  verse,  you  find, ''  And 
the  blood  shall  be  to  you  for  a  token  upon  the  houses  where  ye 
are :  and  when  I  see  the  blood  I  will  pass  over  you,  and  the 
plague  shall  not  be  upon  you,  when  I  smite  the  land  of  Egypt." 
It  was  not,  "  And  when  I  see  your  good  resolutions,  your  tears, 
your  agonies,  I  will  pass  over  you."  The  blood  was  a  token  that 
he  gave  them.  Some  people  say,  "  Oh,  it  was  not  the  death 
of  Christ ;  it  was  his  life  ;  it  was  his  moral  character  that  was 
significant ;  and  you  should  preach  up  His  life,  and  preach  up 
His  moral  character."  Let  us  preach  these  indeed,  but  let  us 
not  forget  to  preach  His  death— that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  sin- 
ners, but  did  not  live  for  them.  He  lay  down  His  life  and  be- 
came a  substitute  for  sinners.  The  Bible  does  not  say  the  living 
lamb  shall  be  a  token.  If  they  had  tied  up  a  live  lamb,  Death 
would  have  gone  over  that ;  but  they  were  to  take  a  lamb  and 
kill  it,  and  put  its  blood  upon  the  door-posts,  and  when  Death 
came  down,  wherever  the  blood  was  he  did  not  go  in. 

Some  say,  "  I  wish  I  were  as  good  as  that  one  who  has  been 
visiting  the  poor  and  doing  deeds  of  charity  during  the  last  fifty 
years  ;  wouldn't  I  feel  safe  for  heaven  ?  "  But,  oh,  my  dear 
friends,  if  you  are  sheltered  by  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God  you 
are  as  safe  as  any  man  or  woman  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  That 
is  not  character  ;  that  is  not  deeds  ;  it  is  the  blood.  God  says, 
"  When  I  see  the  blood  I  will  pass  over  you."  Moses  and 
Abraham  and  Joshua  were  no  safer  behind  the  blood  than  the 
little  boy  ;  it  was  the  blood  that  kept  Death  out,  it  was  not  their 
good  work.  An  old  minister  when  dying  said  he  had  preached 
the  Gospel  for  fifty  years,  but  when  he  was  dying  he  did  not  rely 
upon  his  preaching  or  his  works,  but  he  requested  them  to  bring 
his  Bible  to  him  and  put  his  hand  upon  the  verse  which   said  ; 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  455 

"  And  the  blood  shall  be  to  him  a  token  ;"  and  he  said  :  "  I 
put  my  hope  upon  that  verse."  It  was  not  his  preachini^,  it  was 
not  his  good  deeds — away  with  them  ;  works  are  all  right  in 
their  place,  but  they  do  not  save  us ;  it  was  not  what  he  had 
done,  but  what  the  blood  had  done.  So  it  is  not  the  strongest 
nor  those  who  have  the  best  character  that  are  the  safest,  but 
those  who  are  behind  the  blood. 

Some  one  said  the  little  fly  in  Noah's  ark  was  as  safe  as  the 
elephant.  It  was  the  ark  that  saved  the  elephant,  just  as  it  was 
the  ark  that  saved  the  fly.  The  question  is.  Have  you  got  the 
token }  It  was  the  most  absurd  thing  in  the  world  to  the 
Egyptians,  this  sprinkling  of  the  blood.  I  can  see  the 
haughty  Egyptian  riding  through  the  town  and  seeing  the  blood 
sprinkled  on  the  door-posts,  and  stopping  to  inquire  what  it  meant. 
Every  one  was  killing  a  lamb  and  he  heard  their  bleating.  He 
said,  "You  must  have  gone  clean  niad  ;  what  is  that  for?" 
They  answered,  "  God  has  told  us  that  at  midnight  to-night  there 
will  be  a  cry  in  Egypt ;  that  Death  is  doing  his  work,  and  every 
house  that  has  not  got  blood  upon  its  door-posts  Death  will 
enter  and  take  the  first-born."  I  can  see  that  Egyptian  now. 
How  scornfully  he  looks  upon  those  men  !  That  is  the  way 
the  world  looks  now  upon  it.  They  say,  "What  do  you  mean 
by  the  blood  ?  The  idea  of  being  saved  by  the  blood  !  The 
idea  that  the  blood  of  another  cleanses  from  sin !  "  And  the 
proud,  haughty  world  scoffs  at  the  thought.  Listen.  At  night 
Death  came  down.  He  entered  the  palace,  and  the  crown  prince 
was  laid  low  ;  and  so  on  through  every  house  in  Egypt,  taking 
the  fiist-born  alike  of  the  rich  and  the  poor.  And  only  faith  and 
its  sign  in  blood  upon  the  door-posts  kept  him  out.  The  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ  when  it  comes  will  be  worth  more  than  all  the 
world.  Your  wealth,  culture,  and  refinement  cannot  help  you 
when  God  comes  to  judge  the  world.  The  question  is,  Have 
you  got  the  token  ?  The  world  makes  light  and  scotTs  and  ridi- 
cules the  idea  now  as  it  did  then. 

But  the  time  is  coining  when  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  will  be 
worth  more  to  you  than  all  the  world.  It  is  like  Noah's  ark. 
I  can  bee  those  antediluvians  scoffing  at  Noah.     But  one  hour 


456  MOODV    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

after  the  flood  began  to  fall  Noah's  ark  was  worth  more  to  them 
than  all  the  world  put  together.  My  friends  you  had  better  be 
wise.  Be  sure  you  have  got  the  token.  If  I  go  down  to  the 
depot  and  want  to  go  to  Chicago,  I  go  to  the  ticket  ofBce.  I  buy 
my  ticket,  and  when  I  get  aboard  the  train  the  conductor  don't 
know  who  I  am,  and  he  don't  care  who  I  am.  It  makes  no  dif- 
ference whether  I  am  white  or  black,  learned  or  unlearned. 
The  question  is,  Have  I  got  a  ticket  ?  Have  I  got  the  token  ? 
Pardon  the  illustration.  The  man  that  has  got  the  token  is 
safe.  The  man  that  has  not  got  it  is  unsafe,  I  don't  care  what 
his  life  or  his  character  may  be,  and  not  only  unsafe,  but  un- 
saved. And  there  is  no  salvation  outside  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ.  There  is  no  other  name  whereby  ye  may  be  saved. 
To  be  sure,  this  scene  down  in  Goshen  was  typical. 

Another  thought.  A  good  many  Christians  wonder  they  are 
so  weak  and  have  not  more  strength  and  do  not  grow  strong 
like  other  people.  You  will  find  out  in  the  eleventh  verse. 
"  And  thou  shalt  yet  eat  it ;  with  your  loins  girded,  your  shoes 
on  your  feet  and  your  staff  in  your  hand."  They  werenot  only 
to  kill  the  lamb,  and  take  the  blood  and  put  it  on  the  doorpost, 
but  they  were  to  feed  on  the  lamb.  Now,  the  great  trouble  with 
Christians  is  they  do  not  feed  on  the  Lamb.  Their  idea  is,  if 
you  get  converted  and  join  the  church,  that  is  enough,  instead 
of  feeding  on  the  Lamb,  and  getting  strong,  and  becoming 
giants  in  God's  service.  They  have  got  the  wilderness  journey 
before  them,  and  they  should  keep  the  staff  in  their  hands  and 
the  shoes  on  their  feet,  and  feed  on  the  Lamb.  Let  us  learn 
the  lesson  to  feed  on  the  Lamb,  and  if  we  feed  on  Christ  we 
will  have  strength.  If  we  neglect  to  feed,  and  do  not  feed  on 
it,  we  will  become  weak  and  feeble,  and  won  t  have  the  power. 
I'here  is  another  thought.  "This  month  shall  be  unto  you  the 
beginning  of  months."  All  the  four  hundred  years  they  had 
been  in  Egypt  were  rolled  away.  And,  sinner,  all  these  years 
that  you  are  in  the  service  of  sin,  you  are  just  losing  them  ;  it 
is  all  lost  time.  These  four  hundred  years  they  had  been  in 
bondage  in  Kgypt  God  rolled  away,  and  said,  ''  This  shall  be 
the   beginning  of  months."     And  you  know  everything  dales 


\'/Jl 


<:>^ 


THE   WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  457 

from  the  blood.  What  is  1874?  You  date  back  to  the  blood; 
you  can't  help  it.  It  is  the  beginning  of  months  to  you,  and 
God  made  Israel  date  back  to  that  night  when  the  lamb  was 
slain,  that  they  might  not  forget  the  meaning  of  it.  There  is 
another  thought  in  that  chapter.  The  fourth  verse  is  :  "  And 
if  the  household  be  too  little  for  the  lamb,  let  him  and  his 
neighbor  next  unto  his  house  take  it  according  to  the  number 
of  the  souls ;  every  man  according  to  his  eating  shall  make 
your  count  for  the  lamb."  It  don't  say  "  If  the  lamb  be  too 
little  for  the  household."  Christ  is  enough  for  any  family,  for 
any  household.  If  you  will  only  just  take  Him,  He  is  enough 
for  the  whole  world  and  all  can  have  Him  if  they  will.  Take 
now,  Exodus,  twenty-ninth  chapter  and  the  sixteenth  verse, 
"  And  thou  shalt  slay  the  ram  and  take  his  blood  and  sprinkle 
it  round  about  upon  the  altar."  Now,  I  have  not  got  time  to 
picture  that  scene,  but  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  this. 
The  only  way  the  High  Priest  came  into  the  presence  of  God 
was  to  sprinkle  blood  round  about  the  altar,  and  if  he  came 
without  the  blood  he  had  no  communion  with  God  whatever. 
And  from  the  time  Adam  fell  until  the  present  time,  there  has 
been  no  communion  with  God  whatever,  only  through  the  blood. 
I  don't  care  who  the  man  is,  if  he  ignores  the  blood,  he  has  no 
communication  with  Heaven,  he  has  no  intercourse  with  Heaven. 
There  is  no  other  way.  Away  back  in  those  days  you  find  they 
came  and  sprinkled  blood  around  the  altar,  and  then  they  made 
their  request  to  God.  Don't  think,  dear  friends,  that  God  will 
have  anything  to  do  with  you  unless  you  come  to  Him  in  His 
way.  If  you  attempt  to  come  to  God  and  ignore  His  Son, 
Heaven  will  be  as  brass  to  you.  There  will  be  no  communica- 
tion between  your  soul  and  God,  until  you  go  by  His  way.  Then 
in  the  thirtieth  chapter  and  the  tenth  verse,  '*  And  Aaron  shall 
make  an  atonement  upon  the  horns  of  it  once  in  a  year  with  the 
blood  of  the  sin  offering  of  atonements."  Atonement  means  at 
one.  It  brings  the  sinner  and  God  at  one.  The  only  way  they 
can  conje  together  is  through  the  blood  of  Jesus. 

Now,   turn    to    Leviticus,  eighth    chapter   and    twenty-third 
verse.     "  And  he  slew  it,  and  Moses  took  of  the  blood  of  it  and 
20 


458  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

put  it  upon  the  tip  of  Aaron's  right  ear,  and  upon  the  thumb  of 
his  right  hand,  and  upon  the  great  toe  of  his  right  foot."  1 
used  to  read  such  passages  and  used  to  say,  "  What  in  the  world 
does  tliat  mean  ? "  Blood  upon  the  ear,  the  hand,  and  the  foot  ? 
What  for  ?  It  seems  very  plain  to  me  now.  Blood  upon  the 
ear  !  A  man  can't  hear  the  voice  of  God  unless  he  is  sheltered 
behind  the  blood.  It  is  only  the  blood-bought  that  hear  the 
voice  of  God.  Why,  you  know  in  the  twelfth  chapter  of  John, 
when  God  spake  to  His  Son  and  said,  "  I  have  glorified  my 
name  and  will  glorify  it  again,"  the  people  said  it  thundered. 
They  could  not  tell  the  difference  between  the  voice  of  God  and 
thunder.  But  God's  own  children  can  hear  it,  and  they  can 
understand  it.  You  take  a  man  sheltered  behind  the  blood, 
and  let  him  come  into  this  meeting,  and  he  will  understand 
what  I  mean.  But  next  to  him  a  man  may  sit  and  say,  "What 
in  the  world  is  that  man  talking  about  ? "  It  is  a  mystery  to 
him.  He  don't  understand  it.  Why .?  Because  his  ear  is  not 
open.  No  uncircumcised  ear  can  hear  the  voice  of  God.  And 
it  is  important  to  hear  right. 

Then  blood  upon  the  hand.  A  man  may  work  for  God,  but 
it  is  only  the  blood-bought  hand  that  can  work  for  God.  And 
now  I  tell  you,  dear  friends,  the  greatest,  the  grandest  mistake 
the  church  of  God  is  making  to-day  is  getting  ungodly  men  to 
do  something  for  the  church.  It  is  keeping  hundreds  of  men 
out  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  We  take  ungodly  men  and  make 
them  trustees  of  the  church,  and  take  their  money  and  say, 
"  Their  money  is  just  as  good  as  anybody  else's  money,"  and 
these  men  have  an  idea  that  they  are  buying  their  way  to 
Heaven,  and  they  are  even  better  in  their  own  opinion  than 
many  true  Christians.  Then  there  are  ungodly  men  singing  in 
tlic  choir  and  helping  in  the  service  of  God.  No  man  can  do 
anything  to  please  God  until  he  is  first  sheltered  behind  the 
blood.  I  don't  care  who  he  is,  I  don't  care  what  his  life  has 
been,  God  cannot  accept  it ;  he  cannot  work  with  God.  Until 
sheltered  behind  the  blood  he  cannot  work  or  walk  with  God. 
A  man  will  have  no  desire  to  walk  with  God  until  he  is  sheltered 
behind  the  blood,  and  brought  into  communion  with  God.     God 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IxN    NEW    YORK.  459 

came  down  on  sundry  occasions  and  talked  with  Abraham  and 
Jacob,  but  God  never  came  down  and  walked  with  man  until 
he  put  them  behind  the  blood  in  Goshen.  When  the  Israelites 
came  to  the  Red  Sea,  they  went  through  the  Red  Sea  like  giants. 
He  walked  with  them  in  the  wilderness.  When  they  wanted 
bread  He  opened  his  hand  and  fed  them :  when  they  wanted 
water  He  brought  it  out  of  the  rock.  God  walked  with  them 
When  Christ  was  down  here  they  said  to  Him,  "  What  shall  we 
do  ? "  Did  he  tell  them  to  build  colleges,  teach  in  the  Sabbath- 
school  class,  preach  to  the  drunkard  and  feed  the  hungry,  and 
clothe  the  naked  ?  Ten  thousand  times,  No  !  This  is  it : 
The  work  of  God  is  to  believe  on  Him,  and  if  a  man  won't 
believe  in  God's  Son  he  cannot  hope  to  get  to  Heaven  in  any 
other  way.  He  that  climbeth  up  the  wall  is  a  thief  and  a 
robber.     No  uncircumcised  hand  can  work  for  God. 

No  uncircumcised  foot  can  walk  with  God.  Some  may  say, 
"  I  cannot  understand  it ;  it  is  a  very  strange  thing  why  God 
should  demand  blood."  I  will  tell  you  why.  He  says,  "  The 
soul  that  sinneth  shall  surely  die,"  That  is  the  penalty.  God's 
justice  must  be  kept.  He  rides  in  a  chariot  with  two  wheels,  of 
which  justice  is  one  and  mercy  another,  and  justice  must  be  done 
as  well  as  mercy.  Why  does  God  demand  blood  ?  God  de- 
mands life.  You  have  sold  yourselves  for  naught.  Christ  comes 
and  takes  the  place  of  the  sinner,  and  dies  in  his  stead,  and  it 
is  through  His  precious  blessed  work  of  atonement  on  Calvary 
that  we  are  saved.  If  there  is  any  other  way,  my  friends,  I  can- 
not find  it.  The  life  of  all  flesh  is  in  the  blood,  and  God  has 
stamped  the  flesh  with  death,  and  He  says  it  shall  never  come 
into  His  presence.  And  here  comes  in  the  glorious  truth  of  the 
resurrection  :  "  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life."  All  lost  life 
in  the  first  Adam  ;  all  got  it  in  the  second.  Some  people  say : 
*'  It  is  a  great  mystery  that  sin  came  into  the  world."  It  is  a 
greater  mystery  that  God  came  down  and  bore  the  brunt  of  it 
Himself — that  He  took  the  saved  into  His  own  bosom  and 
opened  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life.  Let  me  ask  you  to  take  up 
your  bibles  and  take  up  this  great  and  glorious  subject  and  study 
it  awhile,  and  you  \ill  have  a  reason  for  the  hope  within  you. 


460  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Vou  will  be  able  to  tell  how  you  are  saved.  It  is  not  your  good 
deeds,  your  tears,  your  prayers,  but  it  is  the  finished  work  of 
Jesus  Christ  that  saves  you,  because  He  died  and  gave  Himself 
for  us.  I  dc  not  believe  any  one  can  get  a  true  glimpse  of  Jesus 
Christ  without  loving  Him. 

There  is  a  story  of  a  man  that  went  to  California,  when  the 
excitement  broke  out,  and  left  his  wife  and  child  in  New  Eng- 
land. He  said  as  soon  as  he  was  successful  he  would  send  for 
them.  It  was  a  long  time  before  he  was  successful,  but  at  last 
he  sent  the  money,  and  his  wife  and  child  came  on  to  New  York, 
and  got  on  one  of  those  beautiful  steamers,  and  started  for  San 
Francisco ;  and  everything  was  going  well.  All  at  once,  how- 
ever, a  cry  was  heard,  "  Fire,  fire  !  "  It  ran  through  the  vessel ; 
the  pumps  were  set  to  work  and  they  got  all  the  water  they 
could,  but  they  could  not  put  it  out.  The  flames,  gained  on 
them  and  the  captain  ordered  out  the  boats.  But  there  were 
not  life-boats  enough  to  take  all  the  passengers,  and  among  the 
rest  left  on  the  deck  was  the  mother  of  the  lovely  boy.  The  last 
boat  was  pushing  away.  If  she  did  not  get  into  that  boat  she 
must  perish.  She  begged  of  the  men  to  take  her  and  her  boy, 
but  they  said,  "  We  dare  not  take  any  more."  Her  tears  and 
entreaties  at  last  touched  the  heart  of  one  of  the  men,  and  he 
said,  "  Let  us  take  her."  But  the  others  would  not,  and  at  last 
they  compromised  by  saying,  "  We  will  take  one."  What  did 
the  moiher  do?  Did  she  leap  into  that  life-boat  and  leave  her 
boy  behind  to  perish?  That  is  not  a  mother's  love.  She 
hugged  him,  she  kissed  him  and  she  dropped  him  over  into  the 
life-boat,  and  said,  "  If  you  live  to  see  your  father  tell  him  I  died 
to  sa\c  you."  Supposing  that  young  boy  has  grown  up  to  be  a 
man,  and  he  speaks  contemptuously  of  such  a  mother,  would 
you  not  say  "  He  is  an  ungrateful  wretch  ?  "  But,  sinner,  what 
are  you  doing  wiih  Jesus?  Did  not  He  do  more  than  that? 
Was  not  He  numbered  among  the  transgressors  for  us  ?  Was 
not  He  wounded  for  our  transgressions  and  bruised  for  our  ini- 
quities ?     Did  not  He  die  for  the  ungodly  ? 

Tiiere  is  a  story  of  a  regiment  in  the  Austrian  army  that  was 
guilty  of  mutiny,  and  as  they  did  not  want  to  inflict  the  penalty 


THE  WORK  OF  GRACE  IN  NEW  YORK.         46 1 

of  death  upon  the  whole  regiment,  they  decided  that  one  man 
in  ten  should  be  shot.  The  regiment  was  drawn  out  in  line 
and  the  officer  went  along  taking  out  the  tenth  man.  There 
was  a  father  and  a  son.  The  son  knew  he  could  be  spared 
better  than  the  father.  He  was  so  anxious  that  the  father 
should  not  be  shot  that  he  watched  the  officer,  and  saw,  as  he 
came  nearer,  that  it  would  fall  on  his  father.  So  the  son  stood 
behind  his  father,  and  pushed  him  into  the  place  of  life  and 
took  the  place  of  death  himself.  So  with  us.  We  were  con- 
demned to  die,  and  there  was  no  hope  and  no  way  of  escape, 
and  Christ  said,  "  P'ather,  let  me  go  and  take  that  place," 
and  He  left  the  throne,  and  he  came  from  heaven  and  died  in 
our  stead.  And  do  you  get  up  and  go  out  of  this  hall  and  s^, 
"  I  see  no  reason  I  should  love  Christ  ?  "  A  young  man  said 
to  me  the  other  night,  "  I  can  go  along  without  Christ ;  I  don't 
need  Him."  Well,  my  friend,  if  you  can  get  along  without 
Him,  He  can  get  along  without  you.  But  He  don't  want  you 
to  perish  ;  He  wants  you  to  live.  May  you  find  refuge  behind 
the  blood  of  Christ,  is  my  prayer. 

Conclusion  of  "  The  Blood." 
Mr.  Moody  continued  the  consideration  of  the  subject  of 
"  The  Blood."  On  Tuesday  he  began  with  the  first  mention  of 
sacrifices  in  Genesis,  and  drew  all  his  illustrations  and  texts 
from  the  Old  Testament ;  yesterday  his  sermon  was  on  the 
blood  of  Christ.  He  preached  the  death  rather  than  the  life 
of  Christ,  makes  the  Atonement  the  sole  foundation  of  the 
hope  of  heaven — not  good  works  and  moral  character.  In  the 
Bible,  from  the  creation  of  the  world  in  six  days,  to  the  rolling 
away  of  the  stone  from  the  sepulchre,  there  is  not  an  idea  which 
he  does  not  wholly  believe  and  uphold  and  honor,  without 
attempting  to  explain  away  anything,  and  he  is  convinced  that 
each  part  is  needed  to  sustain  the  whole.  If  one  part  is  true, 
it  is  all  true,  and  if  one  sentence  is  false,  it  might  as  well  be 
torn  in  shreds.  There  arise  in  his  mind  no  doubts  or  questions, 
and  he  deals  with  none,  but  taking  the  Bible  as  literally  true 


462  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

throughout,  he  impresses  his  strong  faith  upon  the  listening 
audience  and  their  hearts  accept  it. 

Those  who  were  here  yesterday,  will  remember  that  we  had 
for  our  subject  the  Blood,  as  found  in  the  Old  Testament.  To- 
day we  will  consider  it  in  the  New  Testament.  There  are 
those  who  say  that  it  is  all  one  story ;  that  instead  of  being  two 
books,  it  is  but  one.  There  is  one  class  of  people  who  say  they 
believe  in  the  New  but  not  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  another 
class  believes  in  the  Old  Testament  but  not  in  the  New. 
But  if  you  read  it  carefully,  you  cannot  divide  it.  If  you  change 
any  part  of  it,  it  is  all  gone.  The  very  passages  that  some 
wush  to  throw  out  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  yet  believe  the 
OTw  Testament,  these  very  passages  confirm  the  others.  Some 
say,  "  I  do  not  believe  there  was  such  a  thing  as  a  deluge  ;  we 
do  not  believe  there  was  any  such  thing  as  a  flood."  But  Christ 
says  :  "As  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noah,  so  shall  it  be."  Some 
say,  "  We  do  not  believe  that  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  were  de- 
stroyed in  flames  and  buried,  do  you  ?  Yes,  we  believe  what 
Christ  believed.  He  says:  "Remember  Lot's  wife."  They 
say,  "We  do  not  believe  the  whale  ever  swallowed  Jonah  ;  do 
you  ?  "  Yes,  we  believe  what  Christ  taught ;  and  when  Christ 
says,  "As  Jonah  was  three  days  in  the  whale's  belly."  He  put 
His  divine  soul  into  the  Old  Testament  as  in  the  New.  It  is 
one  book,  therefore.  Whoever  touches  any  part  of  the  Bible 
touches  it  all.  That  is  what  the  questioner  is  trying  to  do  to 
break  down  the  word  of  God,  and  our  confidence  in  God's  tes- 
timony and  God's  record  of  His  son.  Yesterday,  I  did  not 
have  time  to  go  through  the  Old  Testament,  to  say  all  I  wanted 
to  say  about  the  blood,  as  there  described.  To-day  we  will 
pass  over  into  the  New  Testament,  and  see  what  Scripture  says 
about  blood  in  the  New  Testament. 

The  first  thing  I  call  your  attention  to  is  that  we  are  redeemed 
by  the  blood.  There  is  no  other  redemption.  In  the  first 
Epistle  of  Peter,  first  chapter,  eighteenth  verse.  "  Forasmuch 
as  ye  know  that  ye  were  not  redeemed  with  corruptible  things, 
as  silver  and  gold,  from  your  vain  conversation  received  by 
tradition  from  your   fathers,  .  .  .  but   with  the  precious  blood 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  463 

of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot.' 
You  are  redeemed  by  the  precious  blood  of  Christ.  Redemp- 
tion is  more  than  salvation  really.  A  man  might  rescue  another 
from  sudden  death.  He  might  see  a  man  in  a  carriage,  with 
the  horses  dashing  through  the  street,  and  in  a  moment  his  life 
would  be  gone,  dashed  to  pieces  against  the  wall.  He  might 
stop  that  steed,  and  save  the  man's  life.  He  would  be  the 
savior  of  that  man.  Christ  is  more  than  our  Savior.  He  is 
our  Redeemer.  He  has  redeemed  us  with  His  blood.  Redemp- 
tion is  to  buy  back.  When  Christ  came,  he  bought  us 
back.  He  says  you  have  sold  yourselves  for  nought,  but  you 
shall  be  redeemed  without  money.  Though  salvation  is  free 
to  us,  and  it  is  without  money  and  without  price,  yet  it  cost 
God  all  that  He  had  to  do  it.  It  was  the  blood  of  Christ,  His 
only  Son,  that  redeemed  us.  It  cost  Him  His  precious  blood 
to  buy  us  back.  Do  you  think  silver  and  gold  could  have 
redeemed  this  world  ?  Why,  God  could  have  created  millions 
of  worlds  of  gold,  if  silver  and  gold  could  have  done  it,  but  we 
could  be  redeemed  not  by  such  corruptible  things  as  silver  and 
gold.  The  apostle  looks  upon  these  with  scorn  and  contempt 
when  it  comes  to  the  subject  of  redemption.  You  are  redeemed 
by  the  precious  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  of  a  lamb  without 
spot  or  blemish.  The  joy  of  every  Christian  is  that  he  has  been 
bought  back  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  Once  when  I  was  going 
to  speak  in  a  little  town,  on  our  way  there,  there  was  a  young 
man  riding  in  front  of  us,  and  I  said  to  my  companion,  "  Who 
is  that  young  man?  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  him 
before."  He  said,  "  Look  over  there.  Do  you  see  that  beau- 
tiful meadow  and  that  large  farm  and  the  house  over  there  ? 
That  young  man's  father  drank  that  all  up  while  he  lived,  and 
his  son  there  went  away  and  went  industriously  to  work  and 
accumulated  money,  and  came  back,  redeemed  the  old  home- 
stead, and  took  his  mother  out  of  the  poorhouse,  and  is  now  on 
his  way  to  church  there  with  his  mother."  That  was  the  story 
of  the  old  Adam.  He  did  the  same  thing.  He  sold  us  out  to  the 
hands  of  justice  ;  and  the  son  of  God  came  to  buy  us  back.  A 
friend  of  mine  was  coming  from  Dublin  some  time  ago,  and  met 


464  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

an  Irish  boy  with  an  English  sparrow  in  his  hands.  The  bird 
was  trembling  for  its  life,  and  trying  to  get  back  its  liberty  ; 
but  the  boy  was  stronger  than  the  sparrow,  and  would  not  let 
it  escape.  The  man  tried  to  get  the  boy  to  let  the  bird  go. 
He  said,  '*'  My  boy,  why  don't  you  open  your  hands  and  let  the 
bird  fly  away  ? "  The  boy  replied,  "  Faith,  and  I  won't  be 
doing  that,  when  I  have  been  after  him  for  hours,  and  have 
just  got  him."  Then  he  tried  to  get  the  boy  to  do  it  from 
principle,  telling  him  that  it  was  right  to  let  the  poor  bird  have 
its  freedom  again,  but  the  boy  would  not  do  it,  and  finally  the 
man  bought  him  with  a  piece  of  money.  When  he  put  the 
money  into  the  boy's  hand,  in  so  doing  he  redeemed  the  spar- 
row. At  first  the  little  thing  did  not  realize  that  it  had  its  lib- 
erty. It  chirped  a  few  times,  and  looked  around,  and  then  it 
tried  its  little  wings  again,  and  went  up  singing,  as  if  it  said, 
"Thank  you,  thank  you;  you  have  redeemed  me."  That  is 
what  Christ  did.  And  He  sa3^s,  "  I  will  contend  with  him  that 
contendeth  against  thee."  He  gave  us  our  ransom.  He 
redeemed  with  His  own  blood  this  lost  world.  There  is 
redemption  for  every  soul  that  wants  to  be  redeemed. 

Justification  through  Christ's  Blood. 
We  are  not  only  redeemed  by  blood,  but  we  are  justified. 
This  is  more  than  pardon.  If  a  man  is  washed  in  the  blood,  he 
is  as  just  as  if  he  had  never  sinned.  The  question  was  asked 
me,  "  How  can  a  man  be  justified  with  God  ?  "  A  man  is  jus- 
tified by  His  precious  blood.  In  the  third  chapter  of  Romans, 
twenty-third  verse,  it  says  :  "  For  all  have  sinned,  and  come 
short  of  the  glory  of  God.  Being  justified  freely  by  his  grace, 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  So,  if  a  man 
has  been  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  he  is  justified.  Or,  in 
other  words,  God  says,  "  I  have  nothing  in  my  heart  against  you." 
We  talk  about  our  sins  being  pardoned  and  forgiven.  In  reality 
no  sinner  is  forgiven.  Sin  has  to  be  atoned  for,  and  the  Son  of 
God  has  made  atonement.  He  has  justified  us  with  his  own  blood. 
In  the  fifth  chapter  of  Romans,  ninth  verse,  it  says :  "  Much  more 
then  being  now  justified  by  His  blood,  we  shall  be  saved  from 


THE   WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  465 

wrath  through  him."  Then  another  thing  the  blood  does — it 
makes  us  all  equal ;  one  kindred  with  one  tongue,  one  language. 
A  man  that  has  been  sheltered  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  he  talks 
the  same  language  with  every  other  that  has  been  so  sheltered. 
You  can  tell  a  man  that  talks  the  language  of  Zion.  He  may 
not  be  able  to  talk  the  same  language,  but  his  language  has  the 
same  spirit.  Paul  says  in  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  Acts, 
twenty-sixth  verse  :  "  And  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of 
men  for  to  dwell  on  the  fiice  of  the  earth."  Hath  made  of  all 
nations  one  blood  !  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  brings  us 
together,  makes  us  one,  brings  us  all  to  one  level. 

Just  before  the  war  came  on,  during  the  days  of  slavery,  I 
was  in  Boston.  They  were  very  exciting  times  there  then,  and 
Dr.  Kirk  was  preaching  on  the  subject  of  the  Cross.  It  was 
during  the  great  strife,  when  there  was  a  great  deal  of  hatred 
and  suspicion  against  foreigners  then  in  our  country.  It  was 
in  the  time  of  the  Know-Nothing  party,  and  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  feeling  against  the  blacks  and  a  great  deal  of  feeling 
against  the  Irish.  Dr.  Kirk  said  when  he  came  up  to  the  Cross 
to  get  salvation,  he  found  a  poor  black  man  on  the  right  and  an 
Irishman  on  his  left,  and  the  blood  came  trickling  down  from 
the  wounded  side  of  the  Son  of  God  and  made  them  all  brothers, 
and  all  alike,  and  equal.  That  is  what  the  blood  does.  It 
makes  us  all  one  kindred,  and  brings  us  all  into  the  family  of 
God.  We  are  all  saved  by  the  same  blood.  The  blood  has 
two  cries.  It  either  cries  for  our  condemnation,  or  for  our  sal- 
vation. If  we  reject  the  blood,  it  cries  out  for  our  condemna- 
tion. If  we  are  sheltered  behind  the  blood,  and  if  we  fly  to 
that  blood  for  refuge,  it  cries  out  for  our  protection,  and  for  our 
salvation.  We  will  turn  a  moment  to  the  First  Colossians, 
first  chapter  and  twentieth  verse :  "  And  having  made  peace 
through  the  blood  of  His  Cross  ; "  and  then  with  that  let  us 
read  a  verse  that  one  will  find  in  John,  nineteenth  chapter  and 
the  thirty-fourth  verse  :  "  Lut  one  of  the  soldiers  with  a  spear 
pierced  his  side,  and  forthwith  came  there  out  blood  and  water. 
And  he  thAt  saw  it  bare  record,  and  his  record  is  true,  and  he 
knoweth  that  he  saith  true."     He  saw  the  blood  that  came  out 


466  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

of  that  side,  and  thought  now  there  is  the  blood  that  speaketh 
peace.  But  you  know  when  Pilate  washed  his  hands  and  said, 
"  I  am  innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  just  man,"  the  mob  cried 
out,  "Let  His  blood  be  upon  us,  and  upon  our  children." 
Not  to  save  us,  not  to  redeem  us,  not  to  wash  us,  not  to  justify 
us,  not  to  cleanse  us,  but  "  Let  His  blood  be  upon  us  and  upon 
our  children  " — "  we  are  responsible  for  the  act."  They  took 
it  upon  themselves,  but  what  a  prayer  it  was  !  Would  to  God 
that  the  prayer  had  been,  "  His  blood  be  upon  us  and  our  chil- 
dren to  cleanse  us,  and  save  us,  and  speak  peace  to  our  guilty 
conscience."  How  it  would  have  been  blessed  !  But  their  cry 
was.  let  His  blood  be  upon  us,  said  in  all  scorn  and  derision. 
That  is  the  cry  to-day  of  hundreds  of  thousands — "  We  are  not 
going  to  be  saved  by  the  blood,  we  don't  believe  in  any  such 
thing,  we  will  be  responsible  for  rejecting  Him  and  casting 
Him  away."  Oh,  my  friends  !  If  we  ignore  the  blood,  we  are 
lost  ;  there  is  no  other  way  of  being  cleansed  from  our  sins. 
It  says  in  the  first  chapter  of  Revelations  and  fifth  verse, 
"  Unto  Him,  that  loved  us  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  His 
own  blood."  Now,  if  he  so  washed  us,  we  are  clean  ;  if  the 
Son  by  His  coming  washed  us,  and  if  the  blood  did  not  cleanse 
us,  how  are  we  to  be  cleansed  ?  How  are  we  ever  to  come  into 
the  presence  of  the  pure  and  holy  God,  and  see  Him  in  high 
heaven  where  he  sits  upon  His  throne  ?  No  man  until  he  is 
washed  by  the  blood  can  see  God — he  will  have  no  desire  to 
see  Him  ? 

Some  people  tell  us  that  the  Bible  does  not  contain  anything 
on  the  subject  of  the  blood.  I  received  a  letter  from  a  lady 
some  time  ago  stating  that  it  was  the  Apostles  that  taught  it, 
that  Christ  did  not  say  one  solitary  word  about  it  ;  so  she  threw 
out  the  epistles  and  the  teaching  of  Paul,  and  said  she  took  the 
teachings  of  Jesus  Christ,  because  there  was  no  blood  in  them. 
In  Matthew,  twenty-sixth  chapter  and  twenty-eighth  verse,  it 
£:iys,  for  this  is  "  My  blood  of  the  New  Testament  which  is 
shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins,"  and  then  you  will  find 
in  the  ninth  chapter  of  Hebrews  twenty-second  verse,  that 
"  Without   the  shedding   of  blood    there   is   no  remission."     I 


THE    WORK    OK    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  467 

would  like  to  ask  the  people  who  believe  in  the  Bible  and  yet 
'.ry  to  ignore  the  doctrine  of  blood,  What  are  you  going  to  do 
with  that  portion  of  Scripture  where  it  says  that  "  Without  the 
shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  ?  "  Frora  the  time  that 
Adam  fell  in  Eden  to  the  present  time  there  has  never  been  a 
soul  saved  but  by  the  shedding  of  blood,  there  has  never  been 
a  soul  prepared  for  the  coming  to  God  except  by  the  shedding 
of  blood.  The  Holy  Ghost  comes  and  dwells  with  that  soul 
that  is  washed  in  the  blood  of  redemption,  and  it  becomes  a 
temple  for  the  Holy  Ghost  to  dwell  in,  but  never  until  it  has 
been  cleansed  by  the  shedding  of  the  blood. 

"There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood,  drawn  from  Im- 
manuel's  veins."  Why  do  we  sing  that  song?  Why  do  we 
like  to  sing  that  hymn  .''  It  is  because  it  has  got  the  blood  in 
it.  The  hymns  that  have  the  scarlet  h'ne  running  through  them 
will  never  be  lost.  That  hymn  never  will  be  lost ;  as  long  as 
there  is  a  church  on  earth  it  will  be  sung.  There  is  not  a 
nation  in  the  world,  where  there  is  a  Christian,  but  that  they 
have  that  hymn  translated  into  their  own  language.  I  question 
if  there  is  an  hour  in  the  whole  twenty-four  but  in  some  parts 
of  the  earth  they  are  singing  that  hymn — "There  is  a  fountain 
filled  with  blood,  drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins."'  Why  do  you 
like  that  hymn,  "Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea,  save  that  Thy 
blood  was  shed  for  me? "  Why  is  it  that  that  hymn  is  so  popu- 
lar ?  Why  does  the  Church  of  God  like  it  and  sing  it  ?  Why 
do  we  sing  it  so  often  ?  Because  it  has  got  the  precious  blood 
in  it.  Then  there  is  the  familiar  hymn  "  Rock  of  ages  cleft  for 
me,  let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee,"  etc.  Why  do  v.e  all  like  that 
so  much  ?  Because  it  speaks  of  that  fountain  which  has  been 
opened  in  the  house  of  David  for  sin  and  uncleanness,  whereby 
your  sins  may  be  washed  away  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
Everything  that  blood  touches  it  redeems.  When  the  blood 
came  out  of  the  Son  of  God  and  touched  the  Roman  spear  it 
touched  the  Roman  covenant,  and  when  the  blood  came  out 
and  touched  this  earth  it  redeemed  it.  Though  the  usurper  has 
got  it  now,  Jesus  Christ  will  have  it  by  and  by.  Everything 
that  blood  touches  it  purifies  and  redeems. 


468  MOODY    AND    SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

A  New  and  Living  Way  to  God. 

And  so,  my  friends,  what  you  want  is  to  have  the  blood  ap- 
plied to  your  sins.  You  want  to  be  cleansed  by  it,  and  as  long 
ns  there  is  blood  upon  the  mercy-seat  there  is  hope  for  the 
vilest  sinner  that  walks  the  face  of  the  earth.  God,  seeing  us 
look  at  the  blood  upon  the  mercy-seat,  says,  "  Press  in  !  press 
in,  sinners  ?  Press  into  the  Kingdom  of  God."  The.vilest  can 
come  if  he  will.  That  is  what  the  blood  of  Christ  was  shed  for, 
to  cover  sin  and  to  bless  us  and  wash  us  and  prepare  us  for  Gods 
Kingdom.  You  may  turn  a  moment  to  Hebrews,  tenth  chapter. 
I  wish  I  had  time  to  go  through  Hebrews  with  this  wonderful 
subject,  for  there  is  more  said  in  Hebrews  about  the  blood  than 
in  any  other  book  in  the  Bible.  Now  it  says  at  the  nineteenth 
verse  :  "  Having,  therefore,  brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into  the 
holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new  and  living  way,  which 
He  hath  consecrated  for  us  through  the  vail,  that  is  to  say  his 
flesh."  Before  he  had  to  go  to  the  high  priest,  but  now  God 
has  opened  a  new  and  living  way  and  made  all  His  children  kings 
and  priests,  and  we  don't  now  need  any  one  to  intercede  for  us. 
When  Christ  said  "  It  is  finished,"  the  vail  of  the  temple  was 
rent.  It  does  not  say  it  was  rent  from  the  bottom  up.  No,  it 
was  rent  downwards.  It  was  God  that  seized  that  vail  and  tore 
it  open,  and  God  came  out  and  man  can  go  in  there  now. 
Through  His  flesh  the  vail  was  rent,  and  now  all  of  us,  through 
the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  are  made  kings  and  priests,  and 
can  go  boldly  into  the  holiest.  Now  a  living  way  has  been 
opened.  That  is  what  Christ  has  done.  ''  By  a  new  and  living 
way  which  He  hath  consecrated  for  us  through  the  vail,  that  is 
10  say,  His  flesh  ;  and  having  a  high  priest  over  the  house  of 
God,  let  us  draw- near  with  a  true  heart  in  full  assurance  of  faith 
having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience  and  our 
bodies  washed  with  pure  water.  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profession 
of  our  faith  without  wavering,  for  He  is  faithful  that  promised." 
Now  turn  to  the  28th  verse  of  the  same  chapter:  "He  that  de- 
spised Moses's  law  died  without  mercy  under  two  or  three  wit- 
nesses.    Of  how  much  sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye,  shall  he 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  469 

be  though  worthy  who  hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God 
and  hath  counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant  wherewith  he  was 
sanctified  an  unholy  thing,  and  hath  done  despite  unto  the  spirit 
of  grace  ?  " 

Now,  I  would  like  to  ask  friends  here  to-day  that  ignore  the 
whole  subject  of  the  blood,  where  is  your  hope  ?  What  is  it 
based  on  ?  What  are  j'ou  building  your  hopes  of  heaven  on  ? 
Is  it  your  good  deeds  ?  He  says  those  men  that  despised 
Moses's  law  died  without  mercy.  How  much  more  worthy  of 
punishment  shall  he  be  thought  who  hath  trodden  under  foot 
the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  blood  of  the  covenant  ?  I 
heard  of  a  man  some  time  ago  that  was  going  to  get  to  heaven 
in  his  own  way.  He  did  not  believe  in  the  Bible  or  the  love  of 
God,  but  was  going  to  get  in  on  account  of  his  good  deeds.  He 
was  very  liberal,  gave  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  he  thought 
the  more  he  gave  the  better  it  would  be  in  the  other  world.  I 
don't  as  a  general  thing  believe  in  dreams,  but  sometimes  they 
teach  good  lessons.  Well,  this  man  dreamed  one  night  that  he 
was  building  a  ladder  to  heaven,  and  he  dreamed  that  every 
good  deed  he  did  put  him  one  round  higher  on  this  ladder,  and 
when  he  did  an  extra  good  deed  it  put  him  up  a  good  many 
rounds  :  and  in  his  dream  he  kept  going,  going  up,  until  at  last 
he  got  out  of  sight,  and  he  went  on  and  on  doing  his  good  deeds, 
and  the  ladder  went  up  higher  and  higher,  until  at  last  he  thought 
he  saw  it  run  up  to  the  very  throne  of  God.  Then  in  his 
dream  he  died  and  a  mighty  Voice  came  rolling  down  from 
above,  "  He  that  climbeth  up  some  other  way,  the  same  is  a 
thief  and  a  robber,"  and  down  came  his  ladder  and  he  woke 
from  his  sleep  and  thought,  "  If  I  go  to  heaven  I  must  go  some 
other  way."  My  friends,  it  is  by  the  way  of  the  blood  that  we 
are  to  get  to  heaven.  If  a  man  has  got  to  pay  his  way  there, 
only  a  few  can  get  there.  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  these 
poor  sick  people  who  cannot  work  at  all  and  make  money  to  be- 
stow on  others }  Are  they  to  be  lost  and  damned  ?  No,  thauK 
God  !  He  has  made  the  way  so  easy  and  open  that  the  weaK 
and  the  young  and  the  smallest  and  poorest  can  be  saved  if  they 
will.     He   has    made    a    new    and    living  way  right  up  to  the 


470  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Throne.  The  despised  and  persecuted  can  go  up  as  well  as 
anybody  else.  Let  me  read  that  again  :  "  He  that  despised 
Moses's  law  died  without  mercy  under  two  or  three  witnesses." 
That  is  established.  You  can  go  out  of  the  Bible  and  find  that 
in  history. 

Now,  my  friends,  let  me  ask  you  where  is  your  hope  ?  How 
are  you  going  to  be  saved  ?  If  the  Bible  is  true,  and  I  suppose 
there  is  hardly  one  here  but  believes  it,  what  are  you  going  to 
do  with  that  passage  that  says  in  Hebrews^  "  Without  the  shed- 
dinfy  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  }  "  If  you  have  this  blessed 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  offered  to  you,  sent  to  you,  and  you  send 
back  the  insulting  message  that  you  don't  want  it,  where  is  your 
hope  ?  What  is  your  hope  ?  How  are  you  going  to  be  saved  ? 
How  are  you  going  to  escape  the  condemnation  of  the  law? 
Now,  I  have  traveled  considerably  during  the  last  two  or  three 
years  and  have  met  many  ministers,  and  I  have  learned  that 
the  man  that  makes  much  of  the  blood  in  his  preaching,  much 
of  the  Atonement,  and  holds  up  Christ  as  the  only  Substitute, 
God  honors  his  preaching ;  and  the  man  that  covers  up  this 
glorious  truth,  there  is  no  power  in  his  preaching.  He  may 
draw  great  crowds,  and  they  may  hover  around  him  for  a  few 
years,  but  when  he  at  last  goes,  the  church  itself  goes  down 
because  it  had  no  power  in  itself,  their  prayer-meetings  had  no 
power.  The  minister  would  get  up  a  good  choir  and  a  great 
crowd  to  hear  the  music  and  fine  singing,  but  when  it  comes  to 
a  real  spirit  of  power  they  have  not  got  it ;  and  any  religion  that 
takes  the  blood  and  covers  it  up,  hasn't  any  power. 

I  was  in  a  city  of  Europe  and  a  young  minister  came  to  me 
and  said,  "  Moody,  what  makes  the  difference  between  your 
success  in  preaching  and  mine  ?  Either  you  are  right  and  I  am 
wrong,  or  I  am  right  and  you  are  wrong."  Said  I,  "  I  don't 
know  what  the  difference  is,  for  you  have  heard  me  and  I  have 
never  heard  you  preach.  What  is  the  difference  ?  "  Said  he, 
"  You  make  a  good  deal  out  of  the  death  of  Christ,  and  I  don't 
make  anything  out  of  it.  I  preach  the  life."  Said  I,  •'  What 
do  you  do  with  this  :  '  He  hath  borne  our  sins  in  His  own  body 
on  the  tree'?"     Said  he,  "I  never  preached  that."     Said  I, 


THE  WORK  OF  GRACE  IN  NEW  YORK.         47 ^ 

"  What  do  you  do  with  this  :  '  He  was  wounded  for  our  trans- 
gressions ;  He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  and  with  His 
stripes  we  are  healed  '  ?  "  Said  he  "  I  never  preached  that." 
*'\VelI,"  said  I  again,  "  what  do  you  do  with  this — 'without  the 
shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission '.'^  "  Said  he,  "  I  never 
preached  that."  I  asked  him,  "  What  do  you  preach  ? "  "  Well," 
he  says,  "  I  preach  a  moral  essay."  Said  I,  "  My  friend,  if  you 
take  the  blood  out  of  the  Bible,  it  is  all  a  myth  to  me."  Said 
he,  "  I  think  the  whole  thing  is  a  sham."  "  Then,"  said  I,  "  I 
advise  you  to  get  out  of  the  ministry  very  quick.  I  would  not 
preach  a  sham.  If  the  Bible  is  untrue,  let  us  stop  preaching, 
and  come  out  at  once  like  men,  and  fight  against  it  if  it  is  a 
sham  and  untrue  ;  but  if  these  things  are  true,  and  Jesus  Christ 
left  heaven  and  came  into  this  world  to  shed  His  blood  and 
save  sinners,  then  let  us  lay  hold  of  it  and  preach  it,  in  season 
and  out  of  season."  In  the  college  at  Princeton  this  last  year, 
when  the  students  were  ready  to  go  forth  into  the  world,  the 
old  man,  their  instructor,  would  stand  up  there  and  say,  "  Young 
men,  make  much  of  the  blood.  Young  men,  make  much  of  the 
blood!"  and  I  have  learned  this,  that  a  minister  who  makes 
much  of  the  substitution  and  holds  Christ  up  as  the  sinner's 
only  hope,  God  blesses  his  preaching.  And  if  the  Apostles 
didn't  preach  that,  what  did  they  preach  ?  You  take  the  great 
doctrine  of  substitution  out  of  the  preaching  of  Paul,  Peter, 
John,  James,  and  Philip,  and  all  of  those  holy  men,  and  you 
take  out  all  that  they  preached.  And  so,  my  friends,  there 
don't  seem  to  be  one  ray  of  hope  for  the  man  that  ignores  the 
blessed,  blessed  subject  of  the  blood.  "  Without  the  shedding 
of  blood  there  is  no  remission." 

It  is  said  of  Julian,  the  great  apostate,  that  when  he  was  trying 
to  stamp  out  Christianity  in  the  days  of  Rome's  prosperity,  be- 
fore it  received  Christianity,  when  he  was  trying  to  drive  those 
Christians  away,  he  received  a  mortal  wound,  and  as  he  pulled 
the  spear  out  of  his  side,  he  took  a  handful  of  the  blood  that 
gushed  forth  from  the  wound,  and  threw  it  toward  heaven  as  he 
reeled  and  staggerod,  crying  out,  "  There,  Galilean  !  Thou 
hast   conqueicd  !  "     We  are   all    conquered,  overcome   by  the 


472  MOODY    AND    SANKEV    IN    AMERICA. 

blood  of  the  Lamb.  The  o'nly  way  to  Heaven  is  by  the  Word 
of  His  testimony  and  His  blood.  Revelation  is  full  of  the  sub- 
ject. It  would  take  days  to  go  through  Revelation  and  see  all 
it  contains  about  blood.  The  only  thing  that  Christ  left  down 
here  in  the  world  of  His  person,  was  His  blood.  His  flesh, 
His  bones,  He  took  away  with  Him,  and  when  He  hung  there 
on  Calvary,  and  the  blood  came  out  of  His  hands,  and  out  of 
His  feet  and  from  his  bruised  side,  and  trickled  down  on  the 
earth,  it  was  never  gathered  up.  It  was  left  there,  and  God 
holds  the  world  responsible  for  it.  What  are  you  going  to  do 
with  it  ?  Are  you  going  to  trample  it  under  foot  and  send  a 
message  to  Heaven  that  you  don't  care  for  it,  that  you  despise, 
hate  it  ?  Or,  are  you  going  to  find  a  refuge  and  shelter  behind 
it  ?  It  is  Christ's,  shed  for  the  salvation  of  every  soul  here 
within  these  walls.  It  is  said  every  man  that  goes  up,  goes  up 
by  the  way  of  the  blood.  You  cannot  think  about  Abel,  but 
you  think  of  the  bleeding  Lamb.  So,  my  friends,  the  question 
to-day  is  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  this  subject.  I  have 
heard  of  an  English  lady  who  was  greatly  troubled  about  her 
soul  for  several  months,  and  the  way  her  conversion  was  brought 
about  was  this  :  She  told  her  servant  one  day  to  go  out  and 
kill  a  lamb,  and  told  him  what  to  do  with  all  of  the  different 
parts  except  the  blood,  and  presently  after  he  had  killed  the 
lamb  he  came  in  and  asked  her,  "  What  shall  I  do  with  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb  ? "  And  God  used  it  as  the  arrow  that 
should  go  down  into  her  soul  j  and  she  began  to  walk  her  room 
and  ask  herself,  "  What  shall  I  do  with  the  blood  of  the  Son  of 
God?"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that  precious  blood 
that  flows  out  of  Calvary  ?  Are  you  going  to  let  it  cleanse  you 
from  sin  ?  What  say  you  ?  Will  you  take  it  and  by  and  by 
stand  with  your  garments  made  white  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
and  sing  the  song  of  redemption  } 

During  the  war  a  New  York  minister,  I  think  it  was,  came 
down  among  the  soldiers  in  the  hospital,  and  preached  to  them 
the  way  of  Christ,  and  helped  them  in  their  dying  hours.  He 
found  one  man  whobC  eyes  were  closed  and  who  was  muttering 
somclliing  about  "  blood,  blood  ; "  and  the  old  doctor  thought 


THE   WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW   YORK.  473 

he  was  thinking  of  the  carnage  of  the  battle-field  and  the  blood 
he  had  seen  there,  and  going  up  to  him,  he  tried  to  divert  his 
mind  ;  but  the  young  man  looked  up  and  said,  *'  Oh,  Doctor,  it 
was  not  that  I  was  thinking  of,  I  was  thinking  how  precious  the 
blood  of  Christ  is  to  me  now  that  I  am  dying.  It  covers  all 
my  sins."  Oh,  my  friends,  the  dying  hour  will  come.  We  are 
hastening  on  to  death.  If  Christ  is  not  your  all  in  all,  what  is 
to  become  of  you  ?  I  was  on  the  Pacific  coast  some  time  ago, 
and  there  they  were  telling  me  about  a  stage-driver  who  had 
died  a  little  while  ago,  and  you  that  have  been  there  know  that 
those  men  who  drive  coaches  make  a  great  deal  of  the  brake, 
for  they  have  to  keep  their  feet  upon  it  all  the  time  going 
down  the  mountains  ;  and  as  this  poor  fellow  was  breathing  his 
last  in  his  bed  he  cried  out,  "  I  am  on  the  down  grade,  and 
can't  reach  the  brake  !  "  Those  were  his  last  words.  There 
was  not  a  stage-driver  there,  when  1  was  there,  but  was  talking 
about  it.  Just  about  that  time  a  very  eminent  man  in  our  coun- 
try was  dying  in  New  York  or  New  Jersey — a  holy  man  of  God, 
who  had  lifted  the  banner  of  Christ  and  won  many  to  Christ, 
and  he  was  passing  away  in  the  prime  of  life.  There  stood  his 
wife  and  friends  around  the  bedside,  and  there  was  seemingly  a 
heavenly  halo  around  that  couch,  and  just  expiring,  he  said  :  "  I 
am  sweeping  through-  the  gates  washed  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb."  Those  were  his  last  words.  They  live  to-day  in  the 
nation.  I  believe  they  will  never  be  forgotten.  Your  time  will 
come,  and  then  it  will  be  grand  to  die  with  those  words  upon 
your  lips — "  I  am  sweeping  through  the  gates  washed  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb." 

Temperance  Meeting. 

The  many  requests  for  prayers  were  all  in  behalf  of  those 
whose  besetting  sin  is  the  love  of  strong  drink.  Mr.  Moody'*? 
remarks  were  very  short.  He  said,  among  other  things : 
"  There  is  just  one  hope  for  a  drunkard,  and  that  hope  is  Christ 
in  his  heart.  A  man  may  have  strong  will,  but  we  find  that  the 
tempter  is  stronger  than  the  wmII  and  it  gives  way.  The  only 
means  by  which  to  overcome  sin  is  to  accept  Christ ;  education 


474  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

won't  do  it.  culture  won't  do  it,  and  a  ir.an  by  his  own  strength 
cannot  do  it.  I  found  a  drunkard  last  night  who  wanted  to  get 
to  God  without  Christ — can't  do  it.  Let  us  have  faith  that  God 
will  enter  into  such  hearts  to-day." 

After  a  prayer  by  Mr.  Wells  and  the  hymn  "Pass  me  not,  O 
gentle  Saviour,"  Mr.  Moody  introduced  Dr.  Reynolds  of  Massa- 
chusetts, who  has  been  active  in  recent  temperance  movements 
in  that  State.  He  gave  as  his  own  experience  :  '^  I  am  one  of 
the  unfortunate  men  who  inherited  the  love  of  strong  drink  ;  it 
is  as  much  a  part  of  my  inheritance  as  my  hand  is  part  of  my 
body.  I  drank  for  twenty  years,  and  the  last  six  I  was  a 
hardened  drunkard.  When  for  the  second  time  I  was  on  the 
verge  of  delirium  tremens,  driven  by  a  propensity  I  could  not 
control,  I  in  despair,  knelt  down  and  asked  God  to  help  me, 
and  from  that  time  to  this  I  have  been  a  temperate  man  and 
one  of  the  happiest  that  ever  lived.  If  you  want  to  read  a  his- 
tory of  my  life  and  of  all  drinking  men's  lives,  you  will  find  it  in 
the  6oth  Psalm.  No  man  can  handle  alcohol  and  not  be  beaten 
in  the  end.  Drinking  men  are  the  best-hearted  men  in  the 
world,  and  if  you  can  get  them  to  quit  it,  they  make  the  best 
Christians.  Oh,  if  this  evil  has  got  hold  of  you,  go  down  on 
your  knees  and  ask  God  to  help  you." 

He  was  followed  by  Mr.  Warner,  the  President  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  of  Philadelphia,  who  spoke  upon 
the  work  going  on  in  that  city.  He  said,  "  That  man  Moody 
gave  us  n)ore  work  than  we  can  do;"  the  meetings  continued 
to  be  full  and  the  interest  was  not  dying  out. 

'I'he  meeting  was  formally  adjourned,  but  all  who  wished  to 
hear  a  few  words  from  two  working  men,  reformed  drunkards, 
from  the  Phelps  Mission,  were  invited  to  remain,  and  the  whole 
audience  kept  their  seats.  Perhaps  no  words  had  more  effect 
than  those  spoken  by  these  two  men,  who  had  been  through  the 
whole  range  of  wretchedness  and  abasement  which  drunkenness 
could  create  and  still  retained  a  spark  of  manliness  on  which  to 
build  hope  for  the  future. 

There  was  an  unusually  large  attendance  at  the  noon 
prayer-meeting.     There    is    no    better  indication   of  the  great 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  475 

interest  t;ikcn  in  this  revival  than  the  fact  that  such  numbers 
continue  to  go  at  this  inconvenient  hour.  One  wonders  that 
there  are  so  many  who  think  it  possible  to  leave  their  worldly 
interests  for  an  hour  at  midday,  or  so  many  women  who  do  nol 
feel  that  their  small  duties  at  home  are  too  imperative.  Many 
of  them  come  in  on  the  early  trains  from  the  country,  carrying 
their  satchels,  and  they  are  the  ones,  perhaps,  who  evince  by 
their  faces  and  eager  manner  the  most  vital  interest  in  these 
meetings. 

Mr.  Moody,  who  speaks  as  readily  and  impressively  at  the 
prayer-meetings  as  he  does  to  the  crowds  who  assemble  in  the 
afternoon  and  evening,  made  to-day  an  address  on  Thanks- 
giving. He  said  that  after  praising  God,  and  praying  to  Him 
day  and  night  for  weeks,  the  time  seemed  already  to  have 
come  to  give  thanks  for  the  evidence  they  had  had,  that  the 
prayers  had  reached  the  Throne  of  Grace.  Many  instances 
were  given  of  what  seemed  direct  answers  from  God  to  these 
prayers — enough  in  one  half  hour  to  overthrow  all  the  arguments 
against  its  efficacy  which  modern  thought  has  produced.  Rev. 
Dr.  Hatfield  of  Philadelphia  said  he  had  apprehended  that  God's 
work  would  not  be  as  well  done  here  as  it  had  been  in  the  city 
from  which  he  came,  but  that  in  that  one  meeting  he  had  dis- 
covered how  unfounded  that  apprehension  had  been. 

The  women's  prayer-meeting,  at  the  close  of  the  noon  ser- 
vices, was  one  of  the  largest  held  since  this  work  began,  nearly 
all  of  those  in  the  large  hall  adjourning  to  the  smaller  room. 
The  ladies,  who  generally  conduct  these  meeting  alone,  were 
assisted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hatfield,  who  delivered  a  short  address. 

The  young  men's  meeting  developed  a  deep  interest,  and  was 
attended  by  several  thousand  people.  Thurlow  Weed  was 
present,  as  he  had  been  in  the  afternoon,  and  sat  among  the  re- 
porters. When  the  sermon  was  finished  he  still  kept  his  seat, 
and  remained  to  attend  the  prayer-meeting  that  followed. 

Mr.  Moody  spoke  on  the  promises  contained  in  the  Bible. 
He  said  in  part: 

There  was  a  man  in  London  who  aad  all  the  promises  of  God 
printed  together  in  a  little  book,  and  sometime  after  some  one 


476  MOODV   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

in  the  country  sent  up  for  a  copy.  He  received  the  "answer 
that  all  the  promises  of  God  were  out  of  print— perhaps  that 
man  had  never  heard  of  this:  (holding  up  a  Bible).  At  one 
time  in  Chicago,  when  the  n^eetings  grew  a  little  dull,  I  told 
them  we  would  go  through  the  Bible  and  look  for  all  the  prom- 
ises given  us  ;  and  from  that  time  there  were  no  more  dull 
meetings.  We  had  never  realized  before  what  promises  God 
has  made  to  those  who  believe  in  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  West  I 
met  a  man  in  the  cars  who  was  marking  a  lot  of  notes  he  had 
in  his  hand  with  the  letters  B.,  G.,  P.,  and  so  on,  and  I  asked 
him  what  it  was  for.  He  said  some  of  them  were  bad,  the  par- 
ties were  bankrupt,  and  he  never  expected  to  collect  them. 
Some  were  good,  though  the  men  were  slow  to  pay,  and  some 
were  only  possibly  good,  and  he  marked  them  to  calculate  his 
chances.  Now  some  people  are  just  like  this  man  with  God's 
promises  ;  some  they  expect  will  be  kept,  and  some  they  do 
not ;  some  are  barely  possible.  I  advise  you  to  make  all  God's 
promises  good.  God  always  keeps  every  promise  he  makes, 
and  I  defy  any  infidel  to  show  any  promise  He  has  not  kept.    ■ 


The  Other  Side  of  the  Picture. 

Mr.  Moody  gave  as  his  text,  "Son,  Remember,"  saying 
that,  if  he  consulted  his  own  feelings,  he  would  be  preaching  on 
Heaven  or  God  s  love,  but  a  man  who  came  as  a  messenger 
must  give  the  whole  message. 

For  ihe  first  time  since  he  has  been  in  the  city  Mr.  Moody 


THE  WORK  OF  GRACE  IN  NEW  YORK. 


477 


preached  on  the  dark  side  of  the  religious  question — the  conse- 
quences of  a  godless  life,  or  rather  the  consequences  of  rejecting 
Christ,  whether  the  life  be  godless  or  not.  It  was  not  like  most 
of  his  sermons,  the  natural  expression  of  easily  flowing  thoughts, 
but  the  dutiful  message  of  a  man  who  gives  warning  of  the 
worst.  In  his  most  rigorous  sermon  he  tells  not  of  a  hell,  the 
fires  of  which  are  always  burning,  but  of  a  conscience  which 
never  sleeps  or  forgets.  He  might  picture  under  a  pressure  of 
argument  other  torments,  but  as  yet  he  has  only  given  the 
ameliorated  form  of  everlasting  suffering.  He  finds  in  the  words 
"  Son.  remember,"  enough  suffering  for  all  eternity.  Going 
from  the  densely  crowded  streets  one  scarcely  expected  to  find 
many  gathered  in  the  hall,  but  there  was  the  usual  large  congre- 
gation in  attendance. 

1  was  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  in  1867,  and  I  noticed  there 
a  little  oil  painting,  only  about  a  foot  square,  and  the  face  was 
the  most  hideous  I  have  ever  seen.  On  the  paper  attached  to 
the  painting  were  the  words  '^Sowing  the  tares,"  and  the  face 
looked  more  like  a  demon's  than  a  man's.  As  he  sowed 
these  tares,  up  came  serpents  and  reptiles,  and  they  were 
crawling  up  on  his  body,  and  all  around  were  woods  with 
wolves  and  animals  prowling  in  them.  I  have  seen  that 
picture  many  times  since.  Ah  ?  the  reaping  time  is  com- 
ing. If  you  sow  to  the  flesh  you  must  reap  the  flesh.  If 
you  sow  to  the  wind  you  must  reap  the  whirlwind.  God 
wants  you  to  come  to  Him  and  receive  salvation  as  a  gift.  You 
can  decide  your  destiny  to-day  if  you  will.  Heaven  and  hell 
are  set  before  this  audience,  and  you  are  called  upon  to  choose. 
Which  will  you  have  .?  If  you  will  take  Him  He  will  receive  you 
lo  His  arms.     If  you  will  reject  Him  He  will  reject  you. 

Now,  my  friends,  will  Christ  ever  be  more  willing  to  save  you 
than  He  is  now  ?  Will  He  ever  have  more  power  than  He  has 
now.?  Then  why  not  be  saved  no\Y  .^^  Why  not  make  up  your 
mind  to  be  saved  now  while  mercy  is  offered  you  ?  I  remember 
a  few  years  ago,  while  the  Spirit  of  God  was  working  in  our 
church,  I  closed  the  meeting  one  night  by  asking  if  there  were 
any  that  would  like  to  become  Christians  to  rise,  and  to  my  great 


478  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

joy  a  man  arose  that  had  been  anxious  for  some  time.  I  went 
up  to  him  and  took  him  by  the  hand  and  shook  it  and  said,  "  I 
am  ghid  to  see  you  get  up.  You  are  coming  out  for  the  lx>rd 
now  in  earnest .? "  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "  I  think  so.  That  is,  there 
is  only  one  thing  in  my  way."  Said  I,  ''What  is  that.?" 
'•  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  lack  moral  courage.  I  confess  to  you  that 
if  such  a  man  " — naming  a  friend  of  his — "  had  been  here  to- 
night, I  should  not  have  risen.  He  would  laugh  at  me  if  he 
knew  of  this,  and  I  don't  believe  I  have  the  courage  to  tell  him." 
"  But,"  said  I,  "  you  have  got  to  come  out  boldly  for  the  Lord, 
if  you  come  out  at  all.  That  is  what  you  have  got  to  do ;  "  and 
I  talked  with  him,  and  he  was  trembling  from  head  to  foot.  I 
thought  the  spirit  of  God  was  striving  with  him,  and  I  believe 
the  Spirit  was  striving  earnestly  with  him.  I  did  not  labor  with 
that  man  as  I  often  wished  since  that  I  had.  I  wish  that  night 
I  had  prayed  more  earnestly  with  him.  He  came  back  the  next 
night,  and  the  next  night,  and  the  next  night,  and  the  Spirit  of 
God  strove  with  him  for  weeks.  It  seemed  as  if  he  came  to  the 
very  threshold  of  Heaven,  and  was  almost  stepping  over  into 
the  blessed  world.  I  never  could  find  out  any  i"eason  for  this 
hesitation  except  that  he  feared  his  old  companions  would  laugh 
at  him.  I  notice  that  when  men  go  to  prison  no  one  laughs  at 
them,  but  when  they  come  out  and  declare  their  intention  of 
leading  good  lives  and  standing  up  for  Jesus,  then  men  laugh  at 
them  and  make  sport  of  them. 

Well,  I  thought  surely  this  man  would  be  brought  into  the 
fold,  but  at  last  the  spirit  of  God  seemed  to  leave  him ;  convic- 
tion was  gone,  and  then  after  that  when  he  used  to  meet  me  on 
the  street  he  used  to  shun  me,  and  if  1  met  him  coming  along 
the  same  side  of  the  street  he  would  cross  over  to  the  other  side 
and  dodge  me  in  every  way  he  could.  He  finally  got  so  that  he 
didn't  come  to  church  on  the  Sabbath.  He  always  used  to  come 
bclore.  And  that  is  the  fault  some  people  find  with  these  meet- 
ings. They  say  it  hardens  people.  Yes,  it  does  harden  some 
people.  Any  man  that  goes  through  a  special  meeting  like  this 
and  rejects  the  gospel  of  course  becomes  hardened,  and  his 
chances  are  much  less  for  heaven.     The  things   that  formerly 


rilE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  479 

moved  them  do  not  move  them  so  readily  the  next  time.  It 
hardens  a  great  man}'.  It  hardened  this  man.  Six  months  from 
that  time  I  got  a  message  from  him  that  he  was  sick  and  wanted 
to  see  me.  I  went  to  him  in  great  haste.  He  was  very  sick 
and  thought  he  was  dying.  He  asked  me  if  there  was  any  hope. 
Yes,  I  told  him,  God  had  sent  Christ  to  save  him,  and  I  prayed 
with  him.  Contrary  to  all  expectations  and  to  the  belief  of  the 
physicians,  he  recovered  and  got  o(T  from  his  sick  bed.  One 
day  I  went  down  to  see  him.  It  was  a  bright,  beautiful  day,  and 
he  was  sitting  out  in  front  of  his  house  convalescing  rapidly, 
and  I  said,  "You  arc  coming  out  for  God,  now,  aren't  you? 
You  will  be  well  enough  soon  to  come  back  to  our  meetings 
again.?"  Said  he,  "Mr.  Moody,  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to 
become  a  Christian.  My  mind  is  fully  made  up  to  that,  but  I 
won't  be  one  just  now.  I  am  going  to  Michigan  to  buy  a  farm 
and  settle  down,  and  then  I  will  become  a  Christian."  Said  I 
"  But  you  don't  know  yet  that  you  will  get  well."  "Oh,"  said 
he,  "  I  will  be  perfectly  well  in  a  few  days.  I'll  risk  it.  I  have 
got  a  new  lease  of  life."  "  Oh,"  said  I,  "  it  seems  to  me  that 
you  are  tempting  God,"  and  I  pleaded  with  him,  and  tried  every 
way  to  get  him  to  take  his  stand.  At  last  said  he,  "  Mr.  Moody 
I  can't  be  a  Christian  in  Chicago.  When  I  get  away  froia  Chi- 
cago, and  get  to  Michigan,  away  from  my  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances, who  laugh  at  me,  I  will  be  ready  to  go  to  Christ."  Said 
I,  "If  God  has  not  got  grace  enough  to  save  you  in  Chicago,  He 
has  not  in  Michigan,"  and  I  preached  Christ  to  him,  and  urged 
Christ  upon  him.  At  last  he  got  a  little  irritated,  and  said,  '*  Mr. 
Moody,  you  can  just  attend  to  your  business,  and  I  will  to  mine, 
and  if  1  lose  my  soul,  no  one  will  be  to  blame  but  myself — cer- 
tainly not  you,  for  you  have  done  all  you  could."  I  went  away 
from  that  house  then  with  a  heavy  heart. 

I  well  remember  the  day  of  the  week,  Thursday,  about  noon, 
just  one  week  from  that  very  day,  when  I  was  sent  for  by  his 
wife  to  come  in  great  haste.  I  hurried  there  at  once.  His 
poor  wife  met  me  at  the  door,  and  I  asked  her  what  was  the 
matter.  "My  husband,''  she  said,  '-has  been  taken  down  with 
some  disease,  and  I  have  just  had  a  council  of  physicians  here, 


480  MOODY   AND    SAN  KEY    IN   AMERICA. 

and  they  have  all  given  him  up  to  die."  Said  I,  *'  Does  he 
want  to  see  me?  "  "  No,"  said  she.  "  Then  why  did  you  send 
for  me  ?  "  Said  she,  *'  I  cannot  bear  to  see  him  die  in  this  ter- 
rible state  of  mind."  "What  does  he  say?"  1  asked.  Said 
she,  "  He  says  his  damnation  is  sealed  and  he  will  be  in  hell  in 
a  little  while."  I  went  in,  and  he  at  once  fixed  his  eye  upon 
me.  I  called  him  by  name,  but  he  was  speechless.  I  went 
around  to  the  foot  of  the  bed  and  looked  in  his  face  and  said, 
'•Won't  you  speak  to  me?  "and  he  at  last  fixed  that  terri- 
ble deathly  look  upon  me  and  said,  "  Mr.  Moody,  you  need  not 
talk  to  me  any  more.  It  is  too  late.  You  can  talk  to  ray  wife 
and  child rt^n  ;  pray  for  them  ;  but  my  heart  is  as  hard  as  the 
iron  in  that  stove  there.  My  damnation  is  sealed  and  I  will  be 
in  hell  in  a  litlle  while."  I  tried  to  tell  him  of  Jesus's  love  and 
of  God's  forgiveness,  but  he  said,  "  Mr.  Moody,  don't  you  mock 
me.  I  tell  you  there  is  no  hope  for  me."  And  as  I  fell  on  my 
knees  he  said,  *'  You  need  not  pray  for  me ;  you  need  not  pray 
for  a  lost  soul.  My  wife  will  soon  be  left  a  widow  and  my  chil- 
dren will  be  fatherless.  They  need  your  prayers,  but  you  need 
not  pray  for  me."  I  tried  to  pray,  but  it  seemed  as  if  my  pray- 
ers didn't  go  higher  than  my  head,  and  as  if  the  heaven  above 
me  was  like  brass.  As  I  took  the  cold,  clammy  hand,  the  sweat 
of  death  was  upon  it,  and  it  seemed  like  bidding  farewell  to  a 
man  I  should  never  see  in  time  or  eternity.  I  left  him  with  a 
broken  heart.  That  was  about  noon.  The  next  day  his  wife 
told  me  he  lingered  until  the  sun  went  down  behind  those  West- 
ern prairies,  and  from  noon  until  he  died  all  he  was  heard  to 
say  was,  "The  harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  I  am 
not  saved."  After  lingering  along  an  hour  he  would  say  again 
those  words,  and  just  as  he  was  expiring  bis  wife  noticed  his 
lips  quiver,  and  that  he  was  trying  to  say  something,  and  as  she 
bent  over  him  she  heard  him  mutter,  "The  harvest  is  past,  the 
summer  is  ended,  and  I  am  not  saved,"  and  the  angels  bore 
him  away  to  judgment.  He  lived  a  Christless  life  ;  he  died  a 
Chrisiless  death ;  we  wrapped  him  in  a  Christless  shroud  and 
bore  him  away  to  a  Christless  grave.  Oh,  how  dark  and  sad  I 
Are  there  some  here  that  are  almost  persuaded  to  be  Chris- 


«  THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  481 

tinns  ?  Take  my  ndvicc  and  not  let  anything  kee])  you  away. 
Fly  to  the  arms  of  Jesus  this  day  and  hour.  You  can  be  saved 
if  you  will.  Son,  remember !  I  have  warned  you  to-day. 
Daughter,  remember!  you  cannot  say  that  I  did  not  lift  up  a 
warning  voice  to-day  and  exhort  you  with  all  my  soul  to  escape 
the  damnation  of  hell. 

When  he  described  the  scene  at  the  death  bed  of  the  de- 
fpairingand  unrepentant  sinner,  a  thrill  of  horror  passed  through 
the  vast  assemblage  and  tears  rolled  down  many  a  furrowed 
check.  Mr.  Sankey  was  visibly  affected  by  the  picture,  and 
when  he  raised  his  head  at  the  close  of  the  address  his  eyes 
were  red  from  weeping.  The  preacher  concluded  by  referring 
to  the  fact  that  the  fifth  week  of  his  work  in  this  city  would 
come  to  an  end  with  his  sermon,  and  by  praying  earnestly  that 
many  might  be  brought  to  Christ  to  commemorate  the  event. 
The  services  closed  with  the  singing  of 

"  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul." 

Mr.  Moody  has  had  a  very  successful  we»k.  Though  the 
weather  was  not  entirely  propitious,  the  crowds  were  but 
slightly  diminished.  The  endurance  of  these  two  evangelists  is 
something  startling.  Still  one  can  see  by  their  make-up  that 
they  are  intended  for  severe  labor.  Mr.  Sankey  weighs  about 
two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  avoirdupois,  and  measures 
forty-four  inches  around  the  chest.  This  is  the  weight  and 
chest  measure  of  the  basso  profundo  in  an  opera  troupe,  and  is 
indicative  of  great  constitutional  resistance.  Mr.  Moody  is 
only  an  inch  or  two  less  in  chest  measurement  and  but  a  few 
pounds  lighter.  These  gentlemen  are  both  remarkable  for 
equable  temperaments.  They  are  the  most  cheerful  and  happy 
men  in  New  York.  Never  anxious  or  fretful  about  the  future, 
they  do  each  day's  duties  as  they  present  themselves.  If  this 
is  religion  it  would  do  some  of  our  worn  out  and  tired  merchants 
good  to  make  an  experimental  investment  in  it. 

With  all  his  zeal  and  earnestness,  Mr.  Moody  is  not  a  man 
over-weighted  with  gravity.  His  quick  sympathy  with  people 
of  all  classes,  and  his  appreciation  of  their  sorrows,  make  him 

31 


482  MOODY    AND    SANK.EY    IN    AMERICA.  • 

often  pnthetic,  and  his  belief  in  the  danger  of  the  unconverted 
soul  makes  him  deeply  in  earnest ;  but  he  has  no  melancholy 
views  of  life,  no  morbid  dread  of  impending  evil,  and  none  of 
the  sombre  views  of  those  who  think  of  God  only  as  a  Judge 
and  Avenger.  Those  who  hear  him  most  are  the  least  aston- 
ished at  the  whole  movement  and  the  crowd  he  draws.  The 
most  severe  critics  of  his  views  and  methods  soon  forget  their 
criticism  in  the  genial  atmosphere  of  his  sincere,  easy  talk  and 
irresistible  humor.  His  sermons  are  to  those  of  the  more 
scholarly  and  cultivated  clergymen,  what  home  ballads  are  to 
symphonies,  and  every  one  must  like  them  w^hether  they  are 
educated  to  appreciate  fully  the  symphonies  or  not.  The  quiet 
humor  of  the  preacher  was  never  more  effective  than  when  illus- 
trating the  excuses  made  by  those  bidden  to  the  feast,  and  the 
reasons  given  him  every  day  by  those  who  reject  Christ.  When 
finally  he  told  of  a  man  seventy-eight  years  old,  who  said  he 
wanted  to  be  a  Christian,  and  would  be  one,  ''  but  I  am  afraid, 
sir,  I  would  not  hold  out,"  the  whole  audience  smiled. 

In  one  of  the  churches  reference  was  made  at  some  length  to 
the  disinterested  nature  of  the  work  at  the  Hippodrome — such 
an  immense  effort  and  outlay  on  the  part  of  men  who  have  per- 
sonally nothing  to  gain  by  the  movement,  neither  position,  nor 
money,  nor  reputation,  none  of  the  rewards  which  are  generally 
the  stimulants  of  labor.  Mr.  Moody,  who  gives  his  time  and 
unremitting  efforts  to  the  cause,  the  clergymen  of  prominence 
and  talent  who  assist  him  daily,  the  young  men  of  the  Christian 
Association  who  act  as  ushers  and  work  in  the  inquiry-rooms, 
and  behind  these  the  gentlemen  of  wealth  and  liberality  who 
support  the  whole  organization — it  is  only  through  the  disinter- 
ested cooperation  of  all  these  men  that  the  movement  is  such 
a  wide-spread  success.  All  that  is  left  tor  the  people  to  do  is 
to  go  and  listen  and  assent.  No  effort,  no  money  is  required 
from  the  audiences,  and  no  especial  quality  but  receptivity. 
The  words  fall  and  spring  up  bearing  fruit.  Mr.  Moody  tells 
of  a  man  with  such  a  rigorous  sense  of  justice  that  he  "did  not 
believe  in  being  saved  all  at  once  and  for  nothing ; "  yet  so 
simple  and  plain  is  the  plan  of  salvation  which  is  taught  at  the 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YURK.  483 

iJippodrome,  that  very  many  who  go  find  themselves  believing 
and  trusting  for  nothing  and  all  at  once. 

Of  all  the  people  that  assemble  there,  none  seem  to  enjoy  the 
revival  with  more  fervor  than  the  old  people,  of  whom  there  is 
always  a  large  proportion.  Many  go  day  after  day,  and  are 
to  be  found  in  the  same  places.  In  religious  feeling  alone  the 
world  seems  not  to  have  distanced  them,  but  to  go  with  them 
or  to  fojiow  them,  and  they  have  a  sense  of  company  which  to 
them  is  growing  a  rare  experience.  It  is  a  great  popular  move- 
ment in  which  they  have  their  full  share,  and  in  which  their 
years  only  give  them  a  more  vital  interest.  With  bent  heads  and 
closed  eyes  they  say  their  fervent  amens  as  they  listen  to  the 
sympathy,  charity  and  hopefulness  which  Mr.  Moody  daily 
gives  them.  He  is  not  so  much  above  their  mental  range  but 
that  he  can  set  their  thoughts  and  feelings  flowing  with  love 
and  gratitude. 

Dr.  John  Hall  said  :  I  am  extremely  touched  by  the  number 
of  old  men  and  the  mothers  in  Israel  who  are  here.  Many  of 
them  may  not  have  much  money  to  give  or  be  able  to  do  fof 
others,  but  all  can  pray.  God  does  not  keep  the  door  barred. 
Just  as  a  lawyer  makes  it  his  business  to  handle  cases,  and  a 
physician  to  cure  diseases,  so  it  is  the  business  of  the  Christian 
to  pray.  We  clergymen  are  extremely  anxious  to  have  our 
congregations  revived,  but  what  we  want  is  to  be  quickened  aiid 
revived  ourselves,  to  go  up  to  the  level  where  we  want  our  peo 
pie  to  be.  Be  you  what  you  want  others  to  be.  You,  parents, 
be  Christlike  before  your  children.  I  have  often  been  surprised 
and  amused  at  people  who,  after  spending  years  in  a  godless 
life  and  then  coming  to  Christ,  wonder  that  every  one  they 
speak  to  is  not  converted  to  God.  I  want  to  say  to  them,  Did 
you  come  at  once.''  How  long  did  you  wait  after  God  called 
you  ?  God  has  had  patience  with  us  and  we  must  have  patience 
too.  Old  Christians  ought  alway's  to  pray  and  not  faint;  the 
cbuds  are  not  from  the  sun,  but  from  the  earth. 

There  was  a  time  when  I  thought  I  must  preach  with  a  loaf 
of  bread  in  one  hand  and  the  Gospel  in  the  other.     But  it  is  a 


^84  MOODY    AND    SAXKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

thousand  times  better  to  get  the  blessing   that  cripple   got;  as^ 
for  the  rest  God  will  take  care  of  His  own. 

Mr.  Moody  invited  to  the  front  of  the  platform  a  highly  respect- 
able-looking grey-haired  man,  above  the  middle  age,  who  stated 
that  he  was  converted  three  weeks  ago,  and  that  he  was  a  hotel 
proprietor  and  kept  a  bar  previous  to  his  conversion.  He  testi- 
fied of  the  power  of  Christ  over  his  soul  not  because  he  felt  it,  but 
because  the  word  of  God  gave  him  authority  for  saying  his  sins 
were  put  away  and  he  was  a  new  man.  He  carried  his  Bible, 
and  appealed  to  it  in  support  of  all  the  statements  he  made. 
Two  more  reformed  drunkards,  middle-aged  men,  whose  coun- 
tenance bore  traces  of  the  effect  of  strong  drink,  also  spoke. 
One  of  them  was  converted  about  three  weeks  ago,  but  the 
baptism  he  then  received  was  John's  baptism.  Since  Mr. 
Moody's  visit  he  was  baptized  with  a  love  for  winning  souls  to 
Christ.     The  third  man  was  converted  but  three  weeks  ago. 

Said  Mr,  Moody  :  I  wonder  how  many  of  these  people  here 
this  afternoon  would  like  to  be  saved  ?  I  am  not  going  to  ask 
those  who  would  to  rise.  I  do  not  know  whether  any  one  would 
have  courage  to  rise,  and  by  that  act  say,  "  I  would  like  to  be 
saved."  Perhaps  you  say  to  yourselves,  "  If  that  man  will  just 
tell  me  the  way  how  I  can  be  saved  this  afternoon,  I  will  be 
saved."  I  believe  one  reason  why  so  few  are  saved  is  because 
they  do  not  come  out  to  the  meetings  expecting  to  be  saved. 
They  do  not  come  for  that  purpose.  There  was  a  lady  came  to 
our  meeting  in  Philadelphia — to  the  noon  meeting  at  ii  o'clock  ; 
she  came  early  so  as  to  get  a  good  seat.  After  the  meeting  was 
over  we  had  another  meeting  for  women,  and  she  stayed  at  that. 
She  had  made  up  her  mind  not  to  leave  the  meetings  until  she 
had  found  Christ.  She  did  not  find  Plim  at  that  meeting,  but 
she  might  have  found  Him.  He  was  offered  freely  to  everyone 
at  all  of  them.  So  she  stayed  at  the  afternoon  meeting,  and 
still  no  light  came.  She  stayed  at  the  evening  meeting  and 
went  into  the  inquiry  meeting  afterward.  Between  ii  and  12 
o'clock  she  took  me  by  the  hand  and  said,  "  I  will  trust  Him." 
And  she  rejoiced  in  the  Saviour's  love.  I  met  her  afterward. 
There  was  not  a  face  shone  more  <.han  hers  did.     There  was  a 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  485 

woman  who  came  determined  to  find  Him.     When  we  search 
for  God  with  all  our  hearts  we  are  sure  to  find  Him. 

Now  a  great  many  think  they  can't  repent  because  they  have 
not  this  sorrow  they  talk  about ;  they  want  to  work  up  their  feel- 
ings before  they  repent.  Now  all  this  is  man's  idea.  With  the 
command  for  all  men  to  repent  comes  the  power.  God  ain't  an 
unjust  God  ;  he  don't  tell  all  to  repent  and  then  not  give  the 
power  to  do  it.  With  the  command  He  gives  the  power,  and 
you  can  turn  to  Him  if  you  will.  You  are  free  agents,  and  if  you 
come  to  God  you  will  live,  and  if  you  refuse  to  return  to  Him,  of 
course  you  must  die.  And  now  I  want  to  warn  you  about  one 
thing  and  that  is  fear.  Fear  is  not  repentance.  I  have  not 
much  hope  of  scaring  men  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  If  you 
could  do  it  you  would  have  them  out  as  quickly  as  they  got  in. 
It  is  like  men  in  a  storm  at  sea.  They  are  cursing  and  blas- 
pheming and  in  fifteen  minutes  after  they  all  turn  very  pious. 
This  is  not  repentance  ;  it  is  fear.  A  great  many  men  repent 
on  their  dying  bed,  but  when  they  recover  they  forget  all  about 
it.  That  is  not  what  we  want.  It  is  a  cool,  calm  calculation 
that  you  will  just  make  up  your  mind  that  you  will  turn  from  sin 
and  turn  to  God  ;  and  he  will  receive  every  one  that  will  so  turn 
to  Him,  for  He  deals  in  mercy. 

Reconciliation  Illustrated. 

You  hear  people  say  they  can't  understand  that  :  they  can- 
not imagine  but  they  have  to  do  something  to  satisfy  God.  But 
I  tell  you  that  God  is  satisfied,  God  is  reconciled.  You  have 
the  word  of  Paul  that  God  is  reconciled  to  us.  Yes,  thank  God, 
He  is  reconciled  to  the  world.  Can  you  reconcile  God?  Christ 
has  done  that.  The  moment  a  sinner  takes  this  to  heart,  and 
comes  to  Jesus,  that  moment  he  is  saved.  Perhaps  a  story  will 
illustrate  this  as  well  as  anything.  l.w  England  I  was  told  about 
an  only  son — these  only  sons  are  hard  to  bring  up  properly  ; 
they  have  every  whim  and  caprice  gratified  ;  they  generally  grow 
up  h»'adstrong,  self-willed,  and  obstinate,  and  make  it  miserable 
for  any  one  to  have  anything  10  do  with  them.  Well,  this  son 
had  a  father  something  like  himself  in  disposition.     And  one  day 


^86  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

a  quarrel  arose  between  them,  and  at  last,  as  the  son  would  not 
give  in  and  own  he  was  wrong,  the  father  in  a  fit  of  anger  said 
ihat  he  wished  his  son  would  leave  the  house  and  never  come 
back  again.     '*  Well,"  rejoined  the  boy  (as  angry  as  his  father,) 
•*  I  will  leave,  and  I  never  will  enter  your  house  again  until  you 
ask  nie."     "  \\'ell,  then,  you  won't  come  back  in  a  hurry,"  replied 
his  father.     The  boy  then  left.     The  father  gave  up  the  boy,  but 
the  mother  did  not.     Perhaps  these  men  here  won't  understand 
that,  but  you  women  do.     A  great  many  things  will  separate  a 
man  from  his  wife,  a  father  from  his  son,  but  nothing  in  the  wide, 
wide  world  will  ever  separate  a  mother  from  her  child.     A  jury 
can  bring  in  a  verdict  against   her  son  ;  the  hisses  may  go  up 
against  him  ;  he  is  condemned  to  be   hanged ;  there  is  not  a 
friendly  paper  to  write  an  article  in  his  favor.     But  if  his  mother 
be  there,  the  boy  has  at  least   one   eye   to  rest  upon  him,  one 
heart  to  beat  in  sympathy  w4th  him.     He  is  taken  to  the  cold, 
damp  cell  and  left  to  his  fate.     All  forsake  him  but  his  mother. 
She  comes   there;    she  puts  "her  arm   around   his   neck;    she 
kisses  him  ;  she  would  spend  all  the  time  with  him  if  the  officers 
would  allow  it.     She  cannot  save  him.     The  day  before  his  ex- 
ecution   she   sees    him    for    the    last    time ;   she    has  not  the 
courage  to  see  him  in  the  shadow  of  the  gallows.     The  supreme 
moment  at  length  arrives  ;  he  is  led  forth,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
he  dangles  a  corpse.     Does  the  mother  then  forget  him  ?     No ; 
even  now  she  goes  to  his  grave,  strews  flowers  upon  it,  and 
waters  them  with  her  tears.     A   mother's  love  is  next  to  God's 
love.     Death  is  stronger  than  everything  else;  yes, but  with  the 
exception    of  one  thing — a  mother's  love.     Death    and  decay 
may   wreck   this  city,  buildings  may  cease  to  exist,  everything 
yields  before  them   but  a  mother's  love. 

To  refer  to  the  illustration  again :  When  the  father  had  given 
the  boy  up  he  thought  he  would  never  come  back,  the  mother 
was  taken  very  sick.  She  had  been  trying  by  every  means  in 
her  power  to  effect  a  reconciliation  between  the  father  and  son. 
When  she  found  she  could  not  recover  from  her  illness  she 
again  renewed  her  efforts  with  all  the  power  of  a  mother  sTove. 
She  wrote  to  her  son,  imploring  him  to  ask  his  father's  forgive- 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACI     IN    NF.W    YORK.  487 

ness.  He  sent  word  back  that  he  would  not  write  to  his  father 
unless  his  father  first  wrote  to  him.  "  I  will  never  come  home 
until  he  asks  me,"  he  said.  The  mother  btj^an  to  get  lower 
and  lower.  Her  husband  at  this  time  came  to  the  bedside  and 
asked  if  there  was  anything  he  could  do  for  her.  "  Yes,  yes," 
she  cried, "  there  is  one  thing — you  can  send  for  my  boy.  That 
is  the  only  wish  I  have  on  earth  that  is  not  gratified.  If  you 
do  not  care  for  him  when  I  am  alive,  who  will  care  for  him  when 
I  am  gone  ?  I  cannot  bear  to  die  and  leave  my  child  among 
strangers.  Just  let  me  see  him  and  speak  to  him  and  I  will  die 
in  peace."  The  father  said  he  could  not  send  for  him.  He 
could,  but  he  wouldn't.  He  did  not  want  to.  The  mother  has 
but  a  few  hours  now  to  live.  She  again  beseeches  her  husband 
that  he  will  send  for  their  son.  The  father  said  he  would  send 
a  dispatch  to  him,  but  in  her  name.  "  No,  no  ;  that  would  not 
do."  Well,  he  can  stand  it  no  longer,  and  he  signs  his  own  at 
the  foot  of  the  telegram.  It  was  sent,  and  the  moment  the  boy 
received  it  he  took  the  first  train  home.  The  father  was  stand- 
ing by  the  side  of  the  bed  when  the  son  arrived.  But  when  he 
saw  the  door  open  he  turned  his  back  upon  him  and  walked 
away.  The  mother  grasped  the  hand  of  her  boy  and  pressed  it 
again  and  again,  and  kissed  him  fervently.  "Oh!  just  speak 
to  your  father,  won't  you.?  Just  speak  the  first  word."  "  No, 
mother,  I  will  not  speak  to  him  until  he  speaks  to  me."  The 
excitement  was  too  much  and  she  was  rapidly  sinking.  She 
told  her  husband  she  was  dying.  She  now  took  his  hand  in 
one  of  hers,  and  held  the  hand  of  her  boy  in  the  other,  and 
sought  and  strove  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation.  But  neither 
would  speak.  With  her  last  strength  she  then  placed  the  hand 
of  the  son  into  the  hand  of  the  father  and  sank  down  into  the 
arms  of  death,  and  was  borne  by  the  angels  into  the  kingdom  of 
God.  The  father  looked  at  the  wife  and  then  at  the  boy  ;  he 
caught  his  eye  ;  they  fell  upon  each  other's  necks,  and  there 
stood  weeping  by  the  bed  of  the  departed.  That  is  the  illustra- 
tion I  have  given  ;  but  it  is  not  a  fair  illustration  in  this  respect; 
Gcd  is  not  mgry  with  us.  With  that  exception  it  is  a  good 
illustration  of  reconciliation.     Christ  brought  the  hand   of  the 


^88  MOUDV    AND    SANKEV    IX    AMERICA. 

Father  clear  down  to  this  world  ;  He  put  the  hand  of  the  sinner 
into  the  hand  of  His  Father  and  died  that  they  might  be  recon- 
ciled. You  have  nothing  to  do  then  to  bring  about  a  reconcil- 
iation. God  is  already  reconciled  to  us  and  is  ready  to  save  us. 
Let  us  pray. 

The  sermon,  as  usual,  was  full  of  familiar  illustrations.  Even 
two  boys,  with  ragged  hats  and  dirty  hands,  who  had  evidently 
dropped  in  there  for  an  adventure,  paid  enough  attention  to 
catch  all  the  stories  and  convey  them  to  each  other  by  nudges. 
If  some  delay  over  the  sermon  tried  them,  the  singing  came  in 
time  to  prevent  a  retreat.  By  request,  Mr.  Sankey  sang  "The 
Ninety  and  Nine  "  again. 

At  the  opening  Mr.  Sankey  sung  "  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly 
Guide,"  while  the  audience  sat  in  perfect  quiet. 

Instead  of  basing  his  sermon  upon  a  text,  according  to  the 
usual  form,  Mr.  Moody  seems  to  prefer  a  general  subject,  and 
then  in  the  course  of  his  address  he  reads  from  a  small  and 
much-thumbed  Bible  a  number  of  passages  of  Scripture,  illus- 
trating and  enforcing  his  teaching.  No  one  ever  preaches  ser- 
mons in  more  cheerful  tones  and  with  a  more  genial  manner, 
and  in  this  way  he  takes  from  religion  any  seeming  austerity, 
presenting  it  so  attractively  that  the  light  hearted  of  his  hearers 
cannot  dread  its  effect  upon  their  youth  and  spirits.  He 
preached  upon  the  Holy  Ghost.  When  he  said,  "  I  do  not  seek 
to  work  through  your  brains  as  much  as  through  your  hearts, 
since  it  is  not  intellectual  power  so  much  as  love  for  Christ 
which  you  want,"  he  struck  the  keynote  of  his  work.  The 
house  was  full.  The  labors  of  the  inquiry  rooms  are  extensive 
and  successful  ;  meetings  are  held  in  them  whenever  the  con- 
gregations in  the  larger  hall  are  dismissed. 

Mr.  Moody  said  :  the  Holy  Ghost  is  our  teacher.  He  will 
teach  us  and  show  us  things  to  come.  He  comes  to  speak  of 
Christ,  not  of  Himself  A  man  came  to  me  the  other  day  and 
said  lie  was  going  down  to  Florida,  where  my  wife  and  family 
are,  and  wanted  to  know  if  I  had  any  message  to  send.  Weil, 
I  sent  them  a  message  ;  but  suppose  when  that  man  went  down 
'.here  he  should  go  and  see  my  wife  and  should  begin  and  talk 


THK    WORK    OF    GRACK    IN    NEW    YOF^K.  489 

about  himself,  and  not  say  a  word  about  mc.  That  would  not 
cheer  their  hearts  ;  ihey  would  want  to  hear  about  me.  That 
would  make  their  hearts  warm.  The  Holy  Ghost  teaches  us 
this  lesson  of  self-forgetfulncss.  Every  one  of  us  Christians 
wants  more  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Let  us  all  i;ive  ourselves  up 
to  the  influence  of  His  spirit,  who  will  lead  us  on  to  liberty  and 
life  and  peace  and  joy. 

I  have  believed  in  God  for  thirty  years.  When  first  con- 
verted, I  did  not  believe  in  Him  very  much,  but  ever  since  then 
I  have  believed  in  him  more  and  more  every  year.  When  peo- 
ple come  to  me,  tell  me  they  can't  believe,  and  ask  what  they 
shall  do,  I  tell  them  to  do  as  I  once  knew  a  man  do.  He  went 
and  knelt  down  and  told  God  honestly  he  could  not  believe 
in  Him,  and  I  advise  them  to  go  off  alone  and  tell  it  right  out 
to  the  Lord.  But  if  you  stop  to  ask  yourselves  ivhy  you  don't 
believe  in  Him,  is  there  really  any  reason  ?  People  read  infi- 
del books  and  wonder  why  they  are  unbelievers.  I  ask  why 
they  read  such  books.  They  think  they  must  read  both  sides. 
I  say  that  book  is  a  lie,  how  can  it  be  one  side  when  it  is  a  lie  ? 
It  is  not  one  side  at  all.  Suppose  a  man  tells  right  down  lies 
about  my  family,  and  I  read  them  so  as  to  hear  both  sides  ;  it 
would  not  be  long  before  some  suspicion  would  creep  into  my 
mind.  I  said  to  a  man  once,  '*  Have  you  got  a  wife  ? "  "  Yes. 
and  a  good  one."  I  asked  :  "  Now,  what  if  I  should  come  to 
you  and  cast  out  insinuations  against  her?"  And  he  said, 
"Well,  your  life  would  not  be  safe  long  if  you  did."  I  told  him 
just  to  treat  the  devil  as  he  would  treat  a  man  who  went  round 
with  such  stories.  We  are  not  to  blame  for  having  doubts  flit- 
ting through  our  minds,  but  for  harboring  them.  Let  us  go 
out  trusting  the  Lord  with  heart  and  soul  to-day. 

God  is  Love. 

There  are  three  thoughts  I  have  tried  to  bring  out  to-day  t 
that  God  is  love  ;  that  His  love  is  unchangeable;  that  His  love 
is  everlasting.  The  fourth  thought  is  this  :  that  His  love  is 
unfailing.  Your  love  is  not.  His  is.  When  people  come  to 
me  and  talk  about  their  love  for  God,  it  chills  me  through  and 


490  MvOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

through  ;  the  thermometer  goes  down  fifty  degrees  ;  but  when 
they  talk  about  God's  love  for  them,  I  know  what  they  would 
say.  So  do  not  think  for  a  moment  that  God  does  not  love 
you  a  good  deal  more  than  you  love  Him.  There  is  not  a 
sinner  here,  there  is  not  an  unsaved  man  here  to-night  but 
He  wants  to  save,  just  as  a  father  loves  his  child,  only  a  thou- 
sand times  more.  Is  there  a  poor  wanderer  here  that  has  wan- 
dered far  from  Christ  .'*  He  sends  me  to  invite  you  to  come  to 
Him  again.  I  don't  care  how  sinful  you  are  ;  let  this  text  sink 
deep  into  your  soul  to-day,  '"God  is  love." 

Paul  for  three  years  preached  upon  immediate  repentance. 
He  besought  his  hearers  with  tears,  to  turn  from  their  sins  and 
be  saved.  ''Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time."  That  was 
what  he  preached.  Yes,  I  leave  heaven  and  earth,  and  go 
down  to  the  very  borders  of  hell,  and  will  ask  them  there  if  it  is 
not  better  to  repent  now.  They  would  all  with  one  voice 
answer,  "  Yes,  yes,  yes."  The  only  time  we  ever  heard  from 
that  place  was  to  have  a  young  man  implore  that  word  might 
be  sent  to  his  father's  house,  that  his  brothers  there  might  be 
warned  against  neglecting  salvation.  Yes,  the  lost  ones  would 
tell  you  to  escape  and  seek  the  kingdom  of  God  and  be  saved. 
Why,  then,  heaven,  earth,  and  hell  all  unite  in  warning  you  to 
seek  the  kingdom  of  God.  Why  will  you  not  do  it,  then?  Why 
not  accept  Christ  this  very  day  ?  Just  think  what  will  become 
of  you  if  you  do  not. 

When  the  Lawrence  Mills  were  on  fire  a  number  of  years  ago 
— I  don't  mean  on  fire,  but  when  the  mill  fell  in — the  great  mill 
fell  in,  and  after  it  had  fallen  in  the  ruins  caught  fire.  There 
was  only  one  room  left  entire,  and  in  it  were  three  Mission  Sun- 
day-school children  imprisoned.  The  neighbors  and  all  hands 
got  their  shovels  and  picks  and  crowbars,  and  were  working  to 
set  the  children  free.  It  came  on  night  and  they  had  not  yet 
reached  the  children.  When  they  were  near  thern,  by  some  mis- 
chance a  lantern  broke,  and  the  ruins  caught  fiie.  They  tried 
to  put  it  out,  but  they  could  not  succeed.  They  could  talk  to 
the  children,  and  even  passed  them  some  hot  coffee  and  some 
refreshments,  and  encouraged  them  to  keep  up.     But  alas,  the 


THF.    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NFAV    VORK.  491 

flames  drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  this  prison.  S\  perhuman 
were  the  efforts  made  to  rescue  the  children  ;  the  men  bravely 
fought  back  the  flames  ;  but  the  fire  gained  fresh  strength  and 
returned  to  claim  its  victims.  Then  piercing  shrieks  arose  when 
the  spectators  saw  the  efforts  of  the  firemen  were  hopeless.  The 
children  saw  their  fate.  They  then  knelt  down  and  commenced 
to  sing  the  little  hymn  we  have  all  been  taught  in  our  Sunday- 
school  days  :  "  Oh  !  how  sweet — let  others  seek  a  home  below 
which  flames  devour  and  waves  o'erflow."  The  flames  had  now 
reached  them  ;  the  stifling  smoke  began  to  pour  into  their  little 
room,  and  they  began  to  sink,  one  by  one  upon  the  floor.  A  few 
moments  more  and  the  fire  circled  around  them  and  their  souls 
were  taken  into  the  bosom  of  Christ.  Yes,  let  others  seek  a 
home  below  if  they  will,  but  seek  ye  the  kingdom  of  God  with 
all  your  hearts. 

When  I  v/as  a  young  man,  before  I  left  my  native  town,  I  was 
at  work  in  the  field  one  day  in  company  with  a  man,  a  neighbor 
of  mine.  All  at  once  I  saw  him  begin  to  weep.  I  asked  him 
what  the  trouble  was.  He  then  told  me  a  strange  story — strange 
to  me  then,  for  I  was  not  at  that  time  a  Christian.  He  said 
that  his  mother  was  a  Christian  when  he  left  home  to  seek  his 
fortune.  When  he  was  about  starting  his  mother  took  him  by 
the  hand  and  spoke  these  parting  words.  "  My  son,  seek  ye 
first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,  and  all  things 
else  shall  be  added  unto  thee."  "  This,"  said  he,  "  was  my 
mother's  favorite  text."  When  he  got  into  the  town  to  which  he 
was  going  he  had  to  spend  the  Sabbath  there.  He  went  to 
church,  and  the  minister  took  this  very  text — "  Seek  ye  first 
the  kingdom  of  God."  He  thought  it  very  strange.  Well,  he 
said  he  would  not  seek  the  kingdom  then,  he  would  wait  until, 
he  got  a  start  in  life — until  he  got  a  farm  and  some  money.  Yet 
that  text  troubled  him.  Again  he  went  to  church,  and  to  his 
amazement  the  sermon  was  on  that  very  same  text.  He  did 
not  attend  church  for  sometime.  At  last  he  was  induced  again 
to  enter  the  church,  and  behold  !  he  heard  the  preacher  take 
that  very  same  text.  He  thought  then  it  was  God  speaking  to 
him  ;  thatjiis  mother's  prayers  were  being  answered.     But  he 


492  MOODY    AND   SANKEV    IS    AMERICA. 

coolly,  calmly,  and  deliberately  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would 
not  be  a  Christian.  "  I  have  never  heard  a  sermon  that  has 
made  any  impression  on  me  since."  I  was  not  a  Christian  ray- 
self,  so  I  didn't  know  how  to  talk  with  him.  The  time  came 
for  me  to  leave  home.  I  went  to  Boston,  and  there  I  became  a 
convert.  When  I  got  to  be  a  Christian  the  first  thing  that  came 
into  my  mind  was  that  man.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  try  to 
bring  him  to  Christ.  When  I  came  home  I  mentioned  the  name 
to  my  mother  and  asked  if  he  was  living.  "  Is  he  living  ?"  she 
exclaimed;  "didn't  I  write  to  you  about  him  ?  "  "Write  me 
what?"  '*  Why  that  he  had  gone  out  of  his  mind  and  is  now 
in  the  insane  asylum."  When  I  got  up  there  he  pointed  his 
finger  at  me ;  says  he,  "  Young  man, '  seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom 
of  God.'  "  He  had  never  forgotten  that  text.  Although  his 
mind  was  shattered  and  gone,  the  text  was  there." 

My  friends,  do  not  let  that  man  speak  to  you.  He  is  gone 
now.  How  much  better  it  would  have  been  for  him  to  have 
followed  his  mother's  prayer.  The  Spirit  of  God  may  be  striv- 
ing with  some  one  today.  I  may  be  standing  here  for  the 
last  time.  Let  me  plead  with  you  once  more  to  seek  the  King 
dom  of  God,  and  seek  it  with  all  our  hearts. 

Sermon  on  Daniel. 
Mr.  Moody  discoursed  on  "Daniel."  He  said:  The  next 
thing  that  comes  before  us  is  that  the  king  is  in  trouble  again. 
He  has  had  another  dream.  He  called  in  the  wise  men  of 
Babylon  and  told  them  what  he  had  dreamt  about,  but  they 
were  not  able  to  interpret  what  it  meant.  But  the  prophet  is 
brought  in,  and  he  at  once  told  him  the  dream.  He  says:  "Oh 
king,  this  is  your  own  kingdom.  God  has  made  it  to  extend  to 
the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  and  now  since  God  has  exalted 
you,  you  have  become  proud,  and  have  not  given  Him  the 
glory,  but  if  thou  wilt  humble  thyself  He  may  spare  thee."  Now 
Daniel  preached  to  him  a  good  sermon.  It  may  be  he  told  him 
of  Nineveh,  and  how  the  Lord  had  spared  it  when  its  people 
repcnt^-d.  We  find  the  king  saying,  one  year  afterwaids :  "Is 
not   this   the  great  kingdom  I  have  built  up  by  n>^  power  ? " 


THE  WORK  OF  GRACE  IN  NEW  YORK.         493 

We're  told  a  voice  from  heaven  said:  "Oh  king,  thy  glory  is 
departed  from  thee."  He  left  the  throne,  was  driven  from 
among  men,  and  dwelt  with  the  beasts  of  the  field.  At  the  end 
of  seven  times — some  think  that  means  seven  yenrs — his  reason 
returned,  and  the  last  glimpse  we  catch  of  the  mighty  monarch 
is  in  the  4th  chapter  of  Daniel,  where  he  sends  out  his  last 
decree.  Now  he  has  got  home  to  himself  The  language  of 
this  touches  the  king  on  his  throne  ;  it  sounds  as  if  it  came 
from  a  man  who  has  met  the  God  of  all  grace,  and  his  heart 
has  been  changed.  He  says  :  "  Now  I,  Nebuchadnezzar,  praise 
and  honor  and  extol  the  King  of  Heaven."  We  have  very  good 
reason  to  believe  that  he  was  a  saved  man.  We  have  very  good 
reason  to  suppose  that  Daniel  was  successful,  by  his  faithfulness, 
in  winning  him  to  the  God  of  the  Hebrews.  For  fifteen  years 
we  lose  sight  of  the  mighty  prophet.  Another  takes  the  throne. 
We  do  not  find  out  who  that  second  ruler  was,  but  now  we  find 
Belshazzar,  who  reigns  next,  had  a  feast.  There  he  is,  with  his 
thousand  lords  come  up  from  different  parts  of  the  empire. 
No  doubt  he  thought,  like  every  sinner,  that  he  was  perfectly 
secure.  They  are  praising  their  gods  of  silver,  gold,  and  brass. 
While  the  banquet  is  going  on  the  king  orders  the  vessels 
that  had  been  taken  from  the  temple  to  be  brought  in.  All 
at  once  in  that  banqueting  hall  every  voice  is  hushed.  The 
king  trembles  from  head  to  foot.  What  is  the  matter  ?  Every 
eye  is  directed  yonder  to  the  wall.  There  is  seen  a  handwriting 
there,  "  Mene,  mene,  tekel,  upharsin."  There  was  not  any  of 
his  wise  men  could  read  the  writing.  No  uncircumcised  eye 
could  read  God's  writing.  Daniel  was  sent  for.  With  one  look 
he  can  see  it  without  any  trouble.  It  was  his  father's  writing. 
It  read,  "  Thy  kingdom  is  numbered,  thou  art  weighed  in  the 
balance  and  found  wanting,  thy  kingdom  is  given  to  the  Medes 
and  Persians."  He  thought  not  that  while  this  was  going  on 
the  Medes  and  Persians  were  already  at  work — that  very  night 
they  were  marching  up  the  streets  of  Babylon.  They  battered 
down  the  gates  of  the  palace,  and  soon  the  king's  blood  flowed 
with  the  wine  of  the  banquet.     He  blazed  forth  for  one  single 


494  MOODY  AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

night,  and  this  is  the  first  and  the  last  we  ever  hear  of  him. 
Now  Darius  the  Mede  takes  the  throne. 

We  find  that  Daniel  was  put  over  the  presidents  and  made 
the  chief  man  in  all  the  realm.  He  was  put  there  to  see  that 
no  damage  was  done  to  the  king.  He  held  the  position  for  a 
long  time,  but  at  last  there  was  a  conspiracy  raised  against  him. 
No  man  can  be  true  to  God  but  some  one  rises  up  that  wants 
him  to  be  got  out  of  the  way.  If  they  could  only  just  get  one 
of  their  own  number  in  his  place,  what  would  they  not  gain  ? 
After  talking  it  over  they  could  find  no  occasion  against 
Daniel  but  touching  the  love  of  his  God.  Oh,  thank  God  for 
such  a  man.  Would  to  God  we  had  more  like  him.  He  had 
put  no  friends  into  ofiice  that  had  swindled  the  government. 
Though  he  had  been  Chief  Secretary  they  could  find  nothing 
against  him.  At  last  one  of  them  said  :  "  I  have  got  a  plan." 
I  can  imagine  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  princes  all  together 
one  night  and  one  of  them  gets  up  and  says  :  "  Do  you  know 
that  this  man  Daniel  won't  worship  any  one  but  the  God  of  the 
Hebrews  ?  Now  if  we  could  get  Darius  to  sign  a  decree  that 
no  man  shall  be  worshiped  for  thirty  days  but  himself!  Just 
make  a  lion's  den  and  make  it  the  penalty  for  any  man  who 
refuses  to  obey  the  decree,  and  we  shall  soon  get  him  out  of 
the  way."  But  they  said  :  "  Look  here,  this  must  be  a  profound 
secret.  We  must  not  go  out  of  the  Council  Chamber  to-night 
until  we  get  the  king's  signature."  They  very  carefully  drew 
up  the  document.  Next  morning  some  of  them  called  on  the 
king,  saying:  "Oking,  live  forever.  We  have  been  thinking 
how  we  can  increase  your  popularity,  and  we've  made  up  our 
minds  that  if  you  should  sign  a  decree  that  not  one  in  your 
empire  should  worship  any  God  but  yourself  it  would  make  you 
the  most  popular  monarch  that  ever  ruled."  It  cannot  but 
touch  the  king's  vanity.  He  liked  it  very  much.  They  showed 
him  the  document.  "Well,"  he  said,  "I  can  see  no  objection 
to  that.  The  king  takes  his  signet,  down  comes  the  stamp  and 
he  signs  it.  As  he  does  so,  one  of  them  cries  :  "  The  law  of 
the  Medes  and  Persians  altercth  not."  There  also  was  a  pen- 
alty put  in  the   decree.     I  can  imagine  one  of  Daniel's  friends 


THE   WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  495 

runs  and  tells  him.  I  can  imagine  what  Christians  of  the 
present  day  would  say  :  "  Now  these  men  want  to  plunder  the 
government.  Hadn't  you  better  go  off  to  some  remote  part  of 
the  country  for  the  thirty  days  ?  If  you  don't  they  will  catch 
you  and  throw  you  into  the  lions'  den."  Or,  "  Daniel,  if  you 
pray,  dont  pray  with  your  window  open  towards  Jerusalem.  If 
you  will  pray,  put  down  the  blinds  and  pray  in  secret.  Put 
something  in  the  keyhole  so  they  can't  be  peeping  in."  How 
many  men  are  trying  to  serve  God  in  that  way.  How  many 
young  men  I  have  heard  of  whom  when  they  hear  the  footsteps 
of  their  comrade  will  at  once  get  off  their  knees.  Do  you 
think  Daniel  is  going  to  turn  to  the  right  hand  or  the  left  in  his 
old  days  ?  Thank  God,  Daniel  had  time  to  pray.  If  there  had 
been  a  daily  prayer-meeting  in  Babylon  he  would  have  attended 
it  regularly.  Now,  these  princes  watch  him.  He  knelt  down 
as  aforetime.  He  prayed  that  God  might  direct  Darius  in  the 
affairs  of  his  kingdom,  but  he  didn't  pray  to  Darius.  When 
they  told  the  king  I  can  imagine  him  stretching  himself  and 
saying,  "  Who  is  he  ?  "  "  Why,  that  man  you  put  over  us,  that 
Hebrew."  The  king  was  troubled  when  he  heard  it,  and  set 
his  heart  for  the  delivery  of  his  friend  Daniel,  but  the  laws 
could  not  be  altered.  He  and  every  peasant  knew  he  was 
the  best  man  they  had  in  the  whole  country.  Darius  loved 
him  very  much,  but  he  couldn't  save  him.  He  didn't  love 
him  as  much  as  Jesus  loved  us.  Our  Darius  died  himself 
that  the  law  might  be  kept.  And  now,  there  is  the  old  man 
moving  on  to  that  den  like  a  conqueror.  He  knows  if  God 
wants  him  to  go  to  heaven  from  the  den  it  is  all  the  same. 
These  princes  thought  the  lions  would  make  short  work  of 
him.  Ah,  down  comes  an  angel  and  shuts  every  mouth.  I  can 
imagine  he  even  uses  one  as  a  pillow.  He  would  rather  be 
there  with  a  clear  conscience  than  Darius  on  his  throne  with  a 
guilty  one.  Now  I  can  hear  about  daybreak  the  king's  chariot 
going  over  the  streets  of  Babylon.  In  great  haste  he  comes  to 
the  den  and  cries,  '^O  Daniel,  is  that  God  whom  thou  servest 
able  to  deliver  thee  from  the  mouth  of  the  lion  ?  "  "  Yes,  my 
God  is  able  to  deliver  me,  Darius."     He  takes  him  out ;  they 


496  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

embrace  each  other,  and  I  can  imagine  they  breakfast  together 
that  morning. 

Here  Mr.  Moody  said  that  the  time  was  up,  and  he  could  not 
finish,  but  merely  said  that  Daniel  ever  after  was  greatly  be- 
loved. Ivlr.  Sankey  closed  with  the  fine  song,  "  Dare  to  be  a 
Daniel." 

Some  Expositions. 

Mr.  Moody  read  part  of  the  12th  chapter  of  Acts,  explaining, 
as  he  read,  in  his  familiar  way,  which  makes  a  genial  story  out 
every  verse.  It  was  of  the  deliverance  of  Peter  from  the  prison 
where  he  slept  between  two  soldiers  and  bound  with  chains. 
And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him,  and  a  light  shined  in 
the  prison,  and  he  smote  Peter  on  the  side  and  raised  him,  say- 
ing, "  Arise  up  quickly.  And  his  chains  fell  off  from  his  hands." 
"  Now,  if  we  had  been  going  to  do  this  thing,"  Mr.  Moody  said, 
"  we  would  have  crept  in  there  in  the  dark  and  loosened  the 
chains  in  all  possible  silence  and  slipped  out  again.  But  God 
has  a  light,  and  walks  in,  and  the  chains  rattle  off  on  the  floor. 
And  he  saith  unto  him,  cast  thy  garment  about  thee  and  follow 
me.  And  Peter  went  out,  not  wide  awake  yet,  but  wide  awake 
enough  to  obey  ;  that  is  what  God  wants.  And  as  Peter  knocked 
at  the  door  of  the  gate  a  damsel  came  to  hearken,  named  Rhoda. 
And  when  she  knew  Peter's  voice  she  opened  not  the  gate  for 
gladness,  but  ran  in  and  told  how  Peter  stood  before  the  gate. 
And  they  said  to  her,  Thou  art  mad.  The  people  would  not 
believe  their  prayer  was  answered,  but  said,  *  She  don't  know ; 
that  girl  has  gone  clean  mad.'  Now  if  there  is  any  one  who 
doubts  that  our  praj-ers  are  answered,  he  is  just  as  guilty  as  the 
people  who  would  not  believe  that  Peter  was  knocking  at  the 
gate.  There  were  more  converts  in  the  inquiry  room  yesterday 
thin  we  could  talk  to  personally,  and  many,  even  the  very  ones 
wc  pray  for,  are  constantly  coming  in.  God  only  can  tell  how 
much  good  this  movement  may  do,  but  I  feel  as  if  we  had 
already  done  more  than  wc  expected.  Let  us  give  thanks  to 
Him.     Our  prayers  have  indeed  been  answered." 

One  of  the  clergymen  spoke  of  the  work  in  the  Ninth  ward, 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  497 

where  meetings  are  constantly  held  for  the  multitLuks  who  never 
go  to  church,  and  where  many  have  been  brought  to  Christ. 
A  gentleman  from  Brooklyn  was  called  from  the  audience  to  tell 
of  the  work  in  his  church  there.  *'  A  small  stream,  but  ever 
flowing,"  he  said.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Kennard  said  that  when  Mr. 
Moody  asked  him  if  he  had  any  good  news,  he  felt  like  saying 
as  Wesley  did,  "God  is  with  us."  The  meeting  closed  with  a 
few  moments  of  silent  prayer  and  the  doxology. 

While  Mr.  Moody  exhorts,  in  his  plain  and  general  way, 
the  people  who  flock  to  the  revival  meetings,  the  work  there 
does  not  include  all  that  is  being  done.  That  is  the  great  cen- 
tre ;  but  many  other  clergymen  of  the  city  and  throughout  the 
country,  feeling  the  impulse,  carry  the  same  spirit  to  their  own 
churches,  where  it  reaches  the  more  critical  classes,  who  rarely 
or  never  go  to  the  Hippodrome. 

I  want  to  speak  of  the  seven  different  characters  in  John,  and 
how  Christ  dealt  with  them. 

Suppose  we  could  divide  up  these  sinners  here  under  these 
seven  heads.  Turn  to  the  7th  chapter  of  John  and  see  how 
Christ  dealt  with  that  respectable  sinner  Nicodemus.  He  set 
him  aside  entirely.  He  did  not  put  a  new  piece  into  the  old 
garment  ;  the  Lord  does  not  patch  a  man's  coat.  He  gives  him 
a  new  coat  throughout.  He  told  Nicodemus  he  must  be  born 
again.  In  the  4th  chapter  see  how  Christ  deals  with  one  who 
has  fallen.  She  is  very  unrespectable,  but  He  gives  her  the 
water  of  life.  We  cannot  find  any  class  of  people  in  New  York 
that  has  not  its  representative  in  the  Bible  and  Christ's  dealings 
with  them.  A  nobleman  came  to  Him,  whose  child  was  ill. 
He  told  him  to  go  home,  his  child  would  live  ;  He  did  not  give 
the  nobleman  any  medicine  for  his  child,  but  the  man  took  His 
word,  and  when  he  got  home  he  found  his  child  was  nearly  well, 
and  that  it  was  better  from  the  seventh  hour,  when  he  had 
spoken  to  Christ.  If  some  poor  tramp  is  here  to-night  who  has 
not  got  any  friends  or  anywhere  to  lay  his  head  to-night,  a  poor 
miserable  sinner,  if  he  will  turn  to  the  5th  chapter  of  John  he 
will  know  how  Christ  will  deal  with  him.  There  was  just  such 
a  poor  beggar  at  the  pool.     Christ  asked  him  if  he  would  like  to 


498  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

touch  the  waters  ;  he  said,  "  I  would  like  to  be  put  in,  but  I 
haven't  any  one  to  help  me  ;  I  am  lame  ;"  and  the  Lord  said, 
"Take  up  thy  bed  and  walk."  He  cured  him  by  a  word.  I 
can  imagine  in  the  gallery  there  is  a  man  who  says  :  "  I  wish 
there  was  some  class  in  the  Bible  that  represented  me.  I  have 
broken  the  law.  If  the  law  should  get  hold  of  me  I  would  have 
to  go  to  prison  for  twenty  years  ;  the  police  do  not  know  ;  I  have 
covered  up  my  sin.  I  wish  there  was  something  in  the  Bible  for 
me."  Well,  there  is  ;  there  is.  Turn  to  the  8th  chapter  of 
John.  You  will  see  how  Christ  dealt  with  a  woman  whom  the 
law  would  have  stoned  to  death.  They  dragged  her  into  the 
presence  of  Christ,  saying,  "  The  law  of  Moses  says,  '  Stone  her 
to  death  ;'  what  sayst  thou  ?  "  He  stooped  and  wrote  on  the 
ground  as  if  he  paid  no  attention  ;  then  he  raised  up  and  said, 
"  He  that  is  without  sin  among  you,  let  him  cast  the  first  stone," 
and  he  went  on  writing  on  the  ground.  When  he  looked  up 
again  the  crowd  had  disappeared.  He  said,  "  Where  are  thy 
accusers }  Go  thou  and  sin  no  more."  If  you  want  to  know  how 
Christ  dealt  with  sinners,  go  to  the  Bible.  There  is  no  sinner 
here  who  has  not  his  representative  in  the  Bible. 

About  bringing  your  Bibles  with  you — ^just  have  a  Bible  you 
can  mark.  If  I  should  go  and  hear  one  of  my  friends  preach, 
and  he  unfolded  some  grand  and  glorious  truth,  I  would  put  a 
few  words  down  upon  the  margin  of  the  Bible  that  would  just 
give  me  the  key  to  the  whole,  and  I  would  not  forget  it.  By 
doing  this,  when  you  heard  a  good  sermon  you  could  go  and 
preach  it  to  other  people.  I  hope  the^ay  will  come  when  if  a 
man  hears  a  good  sermon  in  the  morning,  he  will  be  so  full  of 
it  he  will  have  to  go  and  preach  it  over  again  in  some  locality 
where  they  have  not  heard  it.  If  the  lawyers  and  merchants 
would  only  do  that  they  would  make  better  missionaries  than 
the  hired  ones.  I  think  more  of  this  Bible  in  my  hand  than  of 
all  the  other  Bibles  in  New  York.  If  I  had  come  without  this 
Bible  I  would  have  been  lonesome.  I  have  carried  it  so  long  I 
have  got  used  to  it.  Buy  a  good  Bible,  one  that  won't  wear  out, 
with  a  good  flexible  cover  that  will  fold  around  you.  Button 
up  your  coat  over  it  and  keep  it  close  to  your  heart.     You  can 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  499 

mark  your  texts  in  it  and  know  where  to  look  for  them  at  any 
time,  and  they  will  be  glad  to  see  you  in  any  prayer-meeting. 
There  will  be  something  fresh  about  you  that  will  make  you  al- 
ways welcome. 

An  Englishman  said  to  me,  ''  Did  you  ever  study  the  book  of 
Job?"  "  No,"  I  said,  "not  particularly."  "  You  ought  to,"  said 
he  ;  "  it  is  a  wonderful  book ;  if  you  get  the  key  to  that,  you  get 
the  key  to  the  whole  Bible."  "  That  is  singular/'  said  I.  "  I 
thought  Job  was  more  of  a  poetical  book  ;  how  do  you  make  it 
out?"  He  said  the  first  division  represents  Adam  in  Eden,  a 
perfect  man  untried ;  the  second  head  represents  his  fall ;  the 
third  says,  "The  wisdom  of  the  world  came  to  restore  Job." 
"You  cannot,"  he  said,  "find  any  wisdom  in  all  the  books 
equal  to  the  wisdom  of  those  three  men,  but  they  could  not  help 
Job  out  of  his  difficulty.  Just  so  is  the  world  trying  to  put 
Adam  back  again  ;  they  try  to  amend  him  but  they  cannot  do 
it.  Your  philosophers  cannot  restore  Adam  to  his  original  per- 
fection. What  can  the  geologist  tell  you  about  the  Rock  of 
Ages  ?  What  can  the  astronomer  tell  you  of  the  Bright  and 
Morning  Star  ?  The  fact  is  Job  could  not  stand  their  treat- 
ment. He  could  stand  his  boils  and  his  scolding  wife,  but 
he  could  not  stand  the  way  the  wise  men  treated  hirri.  The 
fourth  head  is  about  Elihu ;  he  came  and  brought  grace 
and  that  is  what  Job  wanted.  He  did  not  want  law  ;  Job  was 
a  righteous  man  in  his  own  conceit  up  to  this  time.  He  said 
I  have  fed  the  hungry,  I  have  clothed  the  naked,  I  did  this  and 
that — I  !  I !  I ! — that  was  Job's  cry  then.  He  was  a  great  man  ; 
if  we  had  him  now  we  would  make  him  a  leader  in  some  Pres- 
byterian church  and  be  glad  to  get  him.  Under  the  fifth  head 
God  speaks.  He  says,  "Gird  up  your  loins  like  a  man.  I  will 
put  a  few  questions  to  you."  The  moment  Job  got  a  glimpse 
of  God  he  was  a  different  man  ;  his  self-righteousness  was  gone. 
When  I  go  into  the  inquiry  rooms  some  days  some  have  their 
heads  down  on  their  hands,  and  I  cannot  get  a  word  out  of 
them.  I  say  to  myself  such  persons  are  near  to  God.  But  some 
are  flippant  and  glib,  and  say  why  does  God  do  this  and  why 
does  God  do  that?  Grod  alone  restores  Adam  to  his  lost  state 


500  MOODY   AND    SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

and  in  his  restoration  he  is  better  than  he  was  at  the  beginning, 
because  his  last  stale  is  eternal.  When  he  is  restored  to  heaven 
there  is  no  more  banishment. 

In  this  last  chapter  I  have  read  what  the  Lord  tells  us  to  do 
with  our  children  :  We  are  to  teach  them  diligently  with  line 
upon  line,  here  a  little  and  there  a  little.  I  have  no  doubt 
some  parents  have  got  discouraged  and  disheartened  that  they 
have  not  seen  their  children  brought  to  the  Saviour  as  early  as 
they  expected.  I  do  not  know  anything  that  has  encouraged 
me  more  in  laboring  for  my  children  than  my  experience  in  the 
inquiry  room.  In  working  there  I  have  found  that  those  who 
had  religious  training,  whose  parents  strove  early  to  lead  them 
to  Christ,  have  been  the  easiest  to  lead  toward  Him.  I  always 
feel  as  if  I  had  a  lever  to  work  with  when  I  know  that  a  man 
has  been  taught  by  a  godly  father  and  mother  ;  even  if  his 
parents  died  when  he  was  young,  the  impression  that  they  died 
praying  for  him  has  always  a  great  effect  through  life.  I  find 
that  such  men  are  always  so  much  easier  reached,  and  though 
v»'e  may  not  live  to  see  all  our  prayers  answered,  and  all  our 
children  brought  into  the  fold,  yet  we  should  teach  them  dili- 
gently, and  do  it  in  love.  There  is  where  a  good  many  make 
a  mistake,  by  not  teaching  their  children  in  love — by  doing  it 
coldly  or  harshly.  Many  send  them  off  to  read  the  Bible  by 
themselves  for  punishment.  Why  I  would  put  my  hand  in  the 
fire  before  I  would  try  to  teach  them  in  that  way.  If  we  teach 
our  children  as  we  ought  to  do,  instead  of  Sunday  being  the 
dreariest,  dullest,  tiresomest  day  of  the  week  to  them,  it  will  be 
the  brightest,  happiest  day  of  the  whole  seven.  What  we  want 
to  do  is  to  put  religious  truths  before  our  children  in  such  an 
attractive  form  that  the  Bible  will  be  the  most  attractive  of 
books  to  them.  Children  want  the  same  kind  of  food  and  truth 
that  we  do,  only  we  must  cut  it  up  a  little  finer,  so  that  they 
can  eat  it.  I  have  great  respect  for  a  father  and  mother  who 
have  brought  up  a  large  family  and  trained  them  so  they  have 
con)e  out  on  the  Lord's  side.  Sometimes  mothers  are  discour- 
aged and  do  not  think  they  have  so  large  a  sphere  to  do  good 
in  as  we  have,  but  a  mother  who  has  brought  up  a  large  family 


THE    WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  cqi 

to  Christ  need  not  consider  her  life  a  failure.  I  know  one 
who  has  brought  up  ten  sons  all  Christians  ;  do  you  think  her 
life  has  been  a  failure?  Let  us  teach  our  children  diligently, 
in  season  and  out  of  season.  We  might  train  them  that  they  shall 
be  converted  so  early  they  can't  tell  when  they  were  converted.  I 
do  not  believe  as  some  people  seem  to  think,  that  they  have  got 
to  wander  off  into  sin  first,  so  that  they  may  be  brought  back  to 
Christ.  Those  who  have  been  brought  up  in  that  way  from 
their  earliest  childhood  do  not  have  to  spend  their  whole  life  in 
forgetting  some  old  habit.  Let  us  be  encouraged  in  bringing 
our  children  to  Christ. 

Mary's  Choice. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  Luke,  the  41st  verse,  we  read  of  Mary's 
choice.  After  we  have  been  saved,  the  next  thing  is  to  sit  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus,  and  learn  of  Him,  as  Mary  did.  That  is  God's 
College.  You  may  go  through  Andover  and  Princeton  and  Vale 
and  Harvard,  or  any  and  all  of  the  colleges,  but  if  you  don't  go 
to  God's  college,  God  will  not  use  you  for  his  cause.  He  sends 
his  teachers  all  out  from  there.  We  must  learn  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus  from  His  lips.  A  man  who  prayed  at  Jesus'  feet  did  not 
have  his  prayers  answered  in  the  way  he  expected  them  to  be. 
He  wanted  to  stay  there.  He  prayed  to  be  allowed  to  sit  at 
Jesus*  feet  forever.  ''  No,"  said  Christ,  "  go  and  tell  what  great 
things  the  Lord  hath  done  for  you."  The  first  news  that  came 
to  the  disciples  that  Christ  had  risen  came  from  the  two  Marys. 
They  came  and  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  Saviour,  and  He  said  to  them, 
"Go  publish  what  thou  hast  seen;  go,  tell  the  tidings.''  He 
said  to  Mary,  "  She  hath  the  one  thing  needful,"  and  that  was 
to  sit  at  the  fountain  and  drink  of  the  wisdom  of  the  Saviour. 
The  disciples  were  called  disciples  because  they  were  to  learn 
of  Him.  The  young  converts  who  are  not  willing  to  study 
Christ  and  learn  of  Jesus,  are  not  fit  for  His  service.  They 
must  go  to  God's  college  and  learn  of  Him.  Martha  was  like 
many  who  are  willing  to  work  for  God,  to  do  something  for 
Him,  but  are  not  willing  to  pause  and  hear  the  voice  of  Jesus. 
Hundreds  of  good   people  are   willing   to  do  all  they  can,  but 


502  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

they  are  not  willing  to  stop  and  hear  the  voice  of  the  Lord  and 
receive  instruction  from  Him.  He  says,  "  It  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive."  Mary  took  her  place  of  receiving, 
and  was  content  to  put  the  Lord  in  His  place  of  giving  some- 
thing. She  chose  the  good  part.  I  think  if  I  had  Christ  in 
my  house  to-night ;  I  would  feel  like  not  doing  anything,  like 
letting  the  supper  go,  and  sitting  at  His  feet  to  ask  Him  ques- 
tions and  listen  to  the  answers.  It  is  better  if  we  are  going  to 
work  for  God  to  be  alone  witii  Him  a  great  deal. 

There  are  two  lives  that  Christians  lead  ;  one  before  the 
world,  wherein  we  manifest.  God  ;  and  there  is  a  life  that  we 
must  live  alone  with  God,  and  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  longer  I  live,  and  the  older  I  grow,  the  more  convinced  I 
am  that  there  are  times  when  we  must  sit  quietly  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus,  and  only  let  God  speak  to  our  souls.  O,  young  friend, 
learn  that  lesson.  It  will  save  you  many  a  painful  hour.  Just 
keep  quietly  alone,  and  learn  of  Jesus.  You  know  it  is  when  a 
man  is  alone  with  his  wife,  that  he  tells  her  the  precious  secrets 
of  his  soul.  It  is  not  when  the  family  are  around,  or  when  there 
is  company  there.  So,  when  we  want  to  get  the  secrets  of 
heaven,  we  want  to  be  alone  with  Jesus,  and  listen  that  He  may 
come  and  whisper  to  our  souls.  The  richest  hours  I  have  ever 
had  with  God,  have  not  been  in  great  assemblies  like  this,  but 
sitting  alone  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  But,  in  these  days  of  steam 
and  telegraph,  we  cannot  get  time  to  listen  to  Christ's  whisper 
in  our  ears.  We  are  so  busy  we  do  not  choose  the  one  thing 
needful.  If  we  did,  we  would  not  talk  so  much  as  we  would 
listen,  and  when  we  did  speak,  it  would  be  only  when  we  had 
something  to  say.  We  would  hear  words  that  came  from  the 
Master,  and  they  would  burn  down  deep  into  our  souls  and 
bring  forth  fruit. 

In  the  twentieth  chapter  of  Matthew,  eighth  verse,  you  read 
the  words,  "One  is  your  Master,"  Ah,  to  learn  who  is  your 
Master  and  serve  him  only  !  We  are  willing  to  serve  our  friends, 
to  serve  the  church,  to  serve  the  public,  and  please  every  one, 
and  forget  the  Lord.  But  we  should  just  have  one  master,  and 
live  to  please  him  alone,  and  he  should  be  the  Lord  of  Glory. 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW   YORK.  503 

He  is  a  good  Master.  I  want  to  recommend  Him  to  you  here 
to-day.  If  He  is  not  your  Master,  then  the  devil  is.  Every 
one  has  a  master,  who  is  either  Satan  or  Christ.  You  may  not 
acknowledge  it,  you  may  not  know  it,  but  either  the  Lord  of 
Glory  or  else  the  Prince  of  the  Powers  of  Darkness  is  the  one 
you  serve.  Satan  is  a  hard  and  cruel  master.  If  you  make 
mistakes  under  him,  he  will  have  no  mercy  for  you.  Wiien  you 
get  into  trouble,  if  you  are  in  his  service,  you  will  have  to  suffer 
indeed  ;  but  with  the  Lord  of  Glory  for  your  master,  if  you 
make  mistakes  or  fall  into  error,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  go 
and  confess  to  Him,  and  He  will  forgive  you  quickly  and  smile 
upon  you,  and  restore  to  you  the  joy  of  salvation  if  you  have 
lost  it.  O,  that  we  might  learn  the  sweet  lesson  that  "One  is 
our  Master,"  and  that  One  is  Christ  in  Heaven.  Those  men  who 
are  trying  to  serve  the  public,  what  do  they  gain  ?  I  pity  those 
men  in  Washington,  who  are  trying  to  serve  the  public.  We 
send  them  there,  and  then  turn  and  abuse  them.  Public  men 
get  nothing  but  abuse,  after  all.  It  is  a  hard  thing  to  serve  the 
public  ;  but  it  is  a  glorious  thing  to  serve  Christ.  I  would  a 
thousand  times  rather  have  Him  for  my  master,  than  the  cruel, 
heartless,  wretched  world.  To  know  that  we  have  only  one  mas- 
ter, but  one  to  please  and  one  to  serve  ;  to  live  with  that  idea 
in  view  all  the  while — one  to  please  and  one  to  glorify — is  a 
most  blessed  thing.  He  is  not  a  hard  master.  He  knows  we 
are  liable  to  mistakes,  and  He  is  ready  and  willing  to  forgive. 
If  Christ  is  such  a  glorious  Master,  should  we  not  be  willing  to 
sacrifice  ourselves  to  Him  and  give  up  all  and  follow  him,  and 
turn  our   back   upon    this  fleeting   world  and  live   for   Him  ? 

•'  Down  in  the  human  heart, 

Crushed  by  the  tempter, 
Feelings  lie  buried  that  grace  can  restore  ; 

Touched  by  a  loving  heart, 

Wakened  by  kindness, 
(^ords  that  were  broken  will  vibrate  once  more." 

Christ  is  calling  for  laborers.     Nations  are  perishing  for  want 
of  the  Gospel.     We  are  a  long  time  getting  them  into  the  world. 


504  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

America  has  men  enough  and  money  enough  to  do  it  all,  to  send 
the  Gospel  around  this  globe.  It  is  high  time  that  this  gospel 
was  proclaimed  in  every  town,  and  village  and  hamlet  through- 
out the  whole  world.  It  would  be  very  easy  if  God's  disciples 
would  work  together  for  it.     From  another  sermon  we  take 

Decision. 

Let  us  look  at  Barabbas.  It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  no 
case  in  the  whole  Bible  where  the  great  doctrine  of  substitution 
is  brought  out  better  than  in  this  one.  There  was  a  man  con- 
demned in  one  of  our  western  cities.  What  troubled  him 
the  most  was,  that  the  night  he  was  to  be  executed,  they  were 
making  the  gallows  in  the  prison.  He  heard  them  sawing 
the  planks  and  driving  the  nails ;  and  as  he  heard  he  trembled 
from  head  to  foot.  This  cross  might  have  been  made  in  the 
prison  where  Barabbas  was  confined,  and  these  two  thieves 
to  be  crucified  with  Christ  might  have  been  associated  with 
Barabbas,  and  he  might  have  been  the  ring-leader  in  crime. 
Barabbas  knows  he  has  to  die,  that  there  is  no  hope  ;  he  has 
perhaps  heard  them  making  the  crosses,  one  for  him,  and 
others  for  each  of  his  two  companions.  At  last  the  executioner 
comes.  He  hears  the  footfall  in  the  hall,  and  he  takes  one  man 
from  his  cell,  and  then  another,  and  there  is  poor  Barabbas 
trembling  from  head  to  foot.  He  thinks,  "  In  a  few  moments  I 
will  be  led  to  execution,  and  will  be  nailed  to  the  cross,  to  die  its 
terrible  death  ;  "  and  while  Barabbas  trembles,  the  executioner 
comes  and  unlocks  the  door,  and  throws  it  open,  and  says  : 
**  Barabbas,  you  are  free!"  "What!  free.?  Am  1  free.?" 
"Yes,  you  are  free."  "What  do  you  mean?  How  came  this? 
Who  set  me  free  ?  "  ''Pilate  asked  the  people  which  should  be 
free,  yourself  or  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  the  multitude  have 
chosen  you  to  be  released,  and  Christ  is  to  be  put  to  death  in 
your  stead."  What  joy,  what  good  news  it  must  have  been  for 
that  poor  Barabbas  1  And  think,  my  fi lends,  what  guilt  there 
was  in  that  multitude  making  the  choice  of  Barabbas  1  I  never 
saw  any  one  in  my  life  but  thought  it  was  one  of  the  most  cruel 
cases  in  this  world. 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW   YORK.  505 

But  did  you  ever  stop  to  think  what  you  are  doing  that  is 
worse  ?  The  man  that  chooses  this  world  has  chosen  much 
worse  than  the  Jews  did.  I  would  rather  choose  Barabbas  than 
the  god  of  this  world.  If  you  reject  Jesus  Christ,  bear  in  mind 
that  Satan  is  your  god  ;  he  leads  you  Qn  with  an  unseen  hand. 
He  is  your  tempter,  and  is  trying  to  lure  you  away  from  the 
world  of  light,  to  leave  you  in  the  dark  caverns  of  eternal  death 
and  ruin.  Thanks  be  to  God  there  is  hope  to-day ;  this  very 
hour  you  can  choose  Him  and  serve  Him.  O,  make  your  choice 
to-day.  It  is  not  between  Jesus  and  Barabbas  now;  it  is  be- 
tween the  Lord  of  Glory,  the  Prince  of  Peace,  or  the  Devil  of 
Hell.  Every  one  has  to  decide,  whether  he  wants  to  decide  or 
not.  Some  people  say,  "  I  do  not  propose  to  decide  this  ques- 
tion at  once.  I  am  going  to  be  neutral."  No  man  can  have 
Christ  presented  to  him  but  he  has  to  decide.  You  will  either 
decide  to  reject  or  to  receive  Him.  There  is  but  one  alternative  ; 
if  you  reject  Him  you  receive  the  devil.  If  we  would  stop  put- 
ting this  question  over  from  day  to  day  unanswered,  if  that  little 
girl  sitting  by  her  mother  would  just  say  what  she  would  do, 
how  happy  we  should  all  be.  There  are  some  here  this  after- 
noon who  have  come,  perhaps,  to  scoff  and  laugh.  Dear  friends, 
are  you  going  to  scoff  on  ?  Are  you  going  to  die  in  your  sins 
and  be  lost?  When  Jesus  comes  this  afternoon  and  knocks  on 
the  door  of  your  heart  and  wants  you  to  become  a  Christian,  are 
you  going  to  reject  Him  ?  Some  say,  "  Well  I  can't  give  up  the 
world."  Had  you  rather  have  the  world  than  have  Christ? 
Had  you  rather  have  the  god  of  pleasure  than  the  God  of  heaven  ? 
There  is  no  way  to  stand  neutral  on  this  question.  You  must 
have  one  or  the  other  ;  you  must  have  the  god  of  earth  or  the 
God  of  Heaven.  I  pity  the  man  or  woman  who  is  living  for 
this  world.  You  will  not  only  be  disappointed  now,  but  you 
will  be  disappointed  all  through  this  life.  The  god  of  pleasure 
can  never  lift  you  up  and  make  your  heart  to  rejoice.  Solomon 
looked  abroad  over  this  world  for  that  which  would  satisfy  the 
yearnings  of  his  soul.  He  picked  up  worldly  pleasure,  looked 
at  it,  and  then  laid  it  away  and  said,  *'  Vanity,  vanity,  all  is  van- 
ity I  "  There  are  many  who  live  for  wealth  and  social  position. 
22 


506  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

What  is  it  after  you  have  got  it?  It  is  like  the  boy  runnir.g 
after  a  bubble  ;  when  you  get  it  it  is  gone.  Oh.  that  this  text 
would  sink  deep  in  the  hearts  of  all  here,  that  they  might  be 
made  to  realize  their  need  of  Christ !  Don't  go  out  of  this  hall 
and  say  you  will  forget  this  text.  Just  let  it  sink  into  your  heart 
and  say,  ^'  What  shall  I  do  with  Jesus  }  "  Won't  you  just  stop  a 
moment  and  think?  What  shall  I  do  with  Him  ?  One  of  two 
things  you  must  do  ;  you  must  either  receive  Him  or  reject  Him. 
You  receive  Him  here  and  He  will  receive  you  there.  O,  may 
every  soul  make  up  its  mind  where  it  will  spend  eternity  ! 
Whether  it  will  be  found  in  the  world  of  light  or  in  the  dark 
caverns  of  eternal  woe. 

Don't  delay  the  answer  to  this  great  question,  "  What  shall  I 
do  with  Christ  ? "  Accept  Him  now.  When  you  are  sick  it  is 
no  time  to  receive  Jesus.  When  death  comes  he  often  steals  in 
unawares.  Some  men  don't  know  that  death  is  coming  until 
they  are  hurried  away  into  the  other  world  without  any  prepara- 
tion. How  much  do  you  think  some  lost  one  would  give  if  he 
had  his  life  over  again?  How  much  do  you  think  Agrippa 
would  give  to  be  in  Paul's  place  now  ?  How  much  do  you  think 
those  men  who  took  part  in  the  services  and  heard  Christ  preach 
to  them  would  give  if  they  had  the  opportunity  you  have  here 
this  afternoon  ?  Oh,  if  I  could  go  to  the  borders  of  the  lost  world, 
and  call  up  one  soul,  and  bring  him  on  this  platform,  and  let  him 
tell  the  awful  horror  and  woe  of  being  separated  from  Christ,  how 
terrible  it  would  be.  Why,  I  believe  that  Caiaphas  would  be 
very  glad  to  exchange  places  with  John  ;  but  it  is  too  late  now. 
All  the  opportunities  are  gone.  They  risked  all  for  wealth  and 
station.  And  what  was  the  wealth  and  the  position  these  men 
held  ?  It  was  only  for  a  few  months  or  years,  and  then  God 
changed  their  countenances  and  sent  them  away.  The  rich 
man  would  have  been  glad  to  exchange  places  with  Lazarus,  who 
sat  with  the  dogs  at  his  door.  What  must  have  been  his  misery 
when  he  saw  from  his  terrible  position  Lazarus  among  the  saved. 
It  is  a  good  deal  belter  to  be  a  poor  beggar  with  Christ  in  your 
heart  I  han  to  have  the  applause  of  this  world  and  die  without 
hope. 


THE    WORK    OF    GKACK    IN    NT.W    YORK.  507 

The  time  has  come  now  for  me  to  close  these  Sunday  after- 
noon meetings.  It  is  the  last  time  probably  that  I  shall  ever 
speak  to  this  congregation.  I  may  never  see  many  of  you  again. 
It  is  probably  the  last  time  we  shall  meet  until  we  meet  at  the 
judgment  bar  of  God.  Shall  we  meet  there  ?  Oh,  my  friends, 
come  into  the  fold  of  Christ  to-day.  If  you  receive  Him  it  will  be 
well ;  if  you  reject  Him  and  are  lost  it  will  be  terrible.  Won't 
you  just  say  that  you  will  receive  Christ  to-day  ?  Won't  you  say 
you  will  not  longer  reject  Him  ? 

Mr.  Moody's  One  Purpose. 

Don't  go  and  get  discouraged  when  you  get  to  work  because 
you  don't  find  everything  prosperous  as  you  expected.  You 
cannot  tell  what  will  prosper.  What  you  think  is  prosperity 
may  turn  out  to  be  the  worst  thing  you  could  have  done,  and 
the  thing  you  have  least  hope  of  may  turn  out  to  be  your  great- 
est success. 

An  old  woman  who  was  seventy-five  years  old  had  a  Sabbath- 
school  two  miles  away  among  the  mountains.  One  Sunday 
there  came  a  terrible  storm  of  rain,  and  she  thought  at  first  she 
would  not  go  that  day,  but  then  she  thought,  "  what  if  some  one 
should  go  and  not  find  me  there.?"  Then  she  put  on  her 
waterproof,  and  umbrella,  and  overshoes,  and  away  she  went 
through  the  storm,  two  miles  away,  to  the  Sabbath-school  in  the 
mountains.  When  she  got  there  she  found  one  solitary  young 
man,  and  taught  him  the  best  she  knew  how  all  the  afternoon. 
She  never  saw  him  again,  and  I  don't  know  but  the  old  woman 
thought  her  Sabbath  had  been  a  failure.  That  week  the  young 
man  enlisted  in  the  army,  and  in  a  year  or  two  after  the  old 
woman  got  a  letter  from  the  soldier  thanking  her  for  going 
through  the  storm  that  Sunday.  This  young  man  thought  that 
stormy  day  he  would  just  go  and  see  if  the  old  woman  was  in 
earnest,  and  if  she  cared  enough  about  our  souls  to  go  through 
the  rain.  He  found  she  came  and  taught  him  as  carefully  as  if 
she  was  teaching  the  whole  school,  and  God  made  thai  the  oc- 
casion of  winning  that  young  man  to  Christ.  When  he  lay 
dying  in  a  hospital  he  sent  the  message  to  the  old  woman  that 


5o8  l^IOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

he  would  meet  her  in  heaven.  Was  it  not  a  glorious  thing  that 
she  did  not  get  discouraged  because  she  had  but  one  school  and 
scholar?  Be  willing  to  work  with  one.  Bear  in  mind  the 
words,  "  This  one  thing  I  do."  I  live  for  souls  and  for  eternity. 
I  want  to  win  some  soul  to  Christ.  If  you  want  this  and  work 
for  it,  eternity  alone  can  tell  the  result.  May  God  give  us  a 
passion  for  souls. 

Christ  our  Model. 

Christ  is  the  Light  of  the  World.  He  says,  "  If  any  man 
follow  me,  he  shall  not  walk  in  darkness;  he  shall  have  the  light 
of  life." 

When  I  was  a  little  boy  I  used  to  try  and  catch  my  own 
shadow.  I  don't  know  whether  any  of  you  have  ever  been  so 
foolish  as  that  or  not.  I  could  not  see  why  the  shadow  al- 
ways kept  ahead  of  me.  Once  I  happened  to  be  racing  with 
my  face  to  the  sun  and  I  looked  over  my  head  and  saw  my  shadow 
coming  back  of  me,  and  it  kept  behind  me  all  the  way.  It  is 
the  same  with  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  Peace  and  joy  will  go 
with  you  while  you  go  with  your  face  toward  Him. 

Once  I  was  trying  to  walk  across  the  field  after  a  fresh  fall 
of  snow.  I  would  try  and  see  how  straight  a  line  I  could  make 
with  my  footprints  in  the  snow.  When  I  looked  around  to  see 
how  straight  I  was  going  I  always  walked  crooked  ;  but  if  I 
kept  my  eye  on  the  mark  ahead  of  me,  and  did  not  take  it  off, 
I  could  walk  straight  enough.  So  if  Christians  only  kept  their 
eves  on  the  mark — on  Christ  Jesus,  and  followed  in  his  foot- 
steps, not  turning  around  to  see  what  kind  of  a  path  they  made, 
they  would  walk  straighten  He  is  our  model.  If,  instead  of 
asking,  Why  can't  I  do  this  and  that?  Why  can't  I  dance? 
Why  can't  I  go  to  the  theatre  ?  Why  can't  I  read  The  New  York 
ledger  1  I  don't  see  why  I  cannot  doit!  Canyon?  Then 
put  it  in  this  way,  What  is  the  use  of  it  ?  "  Will  it  make  me  a 
better  Christian  ?  "  If  it  won't,  then  I  won't  do  them.  Instead 
of  asking.  What  is  the  use?  and  Why  can't  I  ?  ask  if  it  will  be 
for  the  honor  and  glory  of  Jesus,  and  if  it  won't,  say,  I  won't 
tlo  iL 


THE    WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  509 

I  do  not  see  that  we  can  have  any  better  example  than  Christ 
himself.  Just  consult  the  Word  of  God  and  see  what  Christ 
would  do.  You  will  find  that  God  never  makes  a  man  do  wrong. 
Who  ever  heard  of  a  man  backsliding  who  walked  with  God  ? 
God  never  backslides.  If  we  are  going  to  keep  company  with 
God  we  have  got  to  walk.  God  does  not  stand  still  and  does 
not  run.  You  must  grow  in  grace  or  else  in  worldliness.  Enoch 
walked  with  God.  He  found  the  right  way  back  there  in  that 
dim  age.  He  was  the  most  unpopular  man  in  that  time.  If 
they  had  had  him  up  for  office,  I  don't  think  he  would  have  got 
to  be  even  so  much  as  constable.  God  and  he  agreed  very  well, 
so  that  al  last  God  said  to  him,  "  Come  up  here  and  walk  with 
Me."  Old  Dr.  Bonner  said,  "Enoch  started  on  a  very  long 
walk  one  day — he  has  not  got  back  yet."  It  is  sweet  to  walk 
with  God.  We  walk  the  wilderness  to-day  and  the  promised 
land  to-morrow.  Oh,  that  we  all  could  say,  "  Father,  take  my 
hand,"  and  put  our  hands  in  His  to-day.  There  is  a  difference 
between  our  having  hold  of  God  and  His  having  hold  of  us.  If 
God  has  hold  of  me  I  cannot  fall,  can  I  ?  If  the  great  God 
who  created  heaven  and  earth  hold  us  by  the  hand  what  have 
we  to  fear  ?  When  my  little  girl  was  about  three  or  four  years 
old  her  mother  got  her  a  new  muff,  and  then  she  wanted  to  go 
right  out  and  take  a  walk  with  that  muff.  She  teased  me  to  go 
out  walking  with  her.  I  told  her  I  was  tired,  but  after  a  while 
I  got  up  and  went  with  her.  I  said,  "  Emma  you  had  better 
let  me  take  hold  of  your  hand."  She  said,  "  No,  I  want  to  put 
'my  hands  in  my  muff  like  mamma  does."  She  was  as  proud  as 
a  peacock  with  the  muff,  and  went  strutting  down  the  street. 
So  a  great  many  people  start  out  with  the  idea  that  they  are 
saved  and  can  get  along  without  the  Word  of  God,  but  they 
find  they  need  to  have  God  hold  them  all  the  time.  My  little 
girl  went  along  alone  for  a  minute,  and  by  and  by  down  she 
went.  When  she  got  up  she  said,  "  Papa,  I  wish  you  would 
let  me  take  hold  of  your  little  finger  ; "  but  I  said,  "  If  you  do, 
when  your  feet  go  from  under  you,  you  will  let  go  and  go  down." 
She  insisted  on  having  my  little  finger,  so  I  gave  it  to  her. 
Pretty  soon  her  little  feet  slipped  from  under  her,  and  down  she 


^lO  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

went  again.  Then  when  she  got  up  she  said,  "  Papa,  I  wish 
you  would  take  my  hand."  So  I  took  her  little  hand,  and  held 
it  by  the  wrist.  Her  feet  went  out  from  under  her  a  number  of 
times  after  that,  but  she  did  not  fall  because  I  held  her.  Oh, 
my  friends,  let  us  learn  the  lesson  to-day  of  separation  from  the 
world.  Enoch  walked  with  God  and  God  saved  him.  Abraham 
walked  with  God  and  God  became  his  friend.  Let  us  to-^ay 
put  our  hands  in  His  as  a  friend,  take  hold  and  walk  with  Him. 

David's  Cunning. 

But  now  the  enemy  comes  back  again  stronger  than  ever, 
thousands  upon  thousands,  a  great  multitude,  and  the  hour  of 
battle  comes  on.  There  on  that  hill  are  the  armies  of  the  Phil- 
istines, and  here  on  this  are  the  thousands  of  Saul ;  and  at  last 
a  giant  warrior  comes  out  from  the  camp  of  the  Philistines  and 
cries  to  Saul's  army,  "  Just  select  one  man  to  come  out  and  fight 
me,  and  if  he  will  overcome  me  we  will  all  be  your  servants," 
and  he  defies  them  day  after  day,  and  there  is  not  a  man  in  all 
that  camp  that  dare  meet  the  giant  of  Gath.  They  were  all 
frightened,  and  the  king  trembled  from  head  to  foot.  As  he 
came  out  in  the  morning,  I  think  I  can  see  them  looking  so 
startled,  and  saying,  "  Look !  There  he  comes  again."  So  he 
defies  them  again  and  again — "  Show  me  a  man  that  will  dare 
to  meet  me."  And  so  every  morning,  day  after  day,  day  after 
day,  for  forty  days,  he  came  out  two  or  three  times  a  day,  and 
each  army  was  afraid  of  the  other,  not  daring  to  open  fire. 
Just  then,  up  came  a  young  stripling.  (Some  one  has  said  he 
was  the  first  delegate  to  the  Christian  Commission.)  He  had 
been  sent  up  from  the  country  by  his  mother,  to  sec  how  his 
brothers  were  getting  on  in  the  king's  encampment.  I  sup- 
pose the  mother  made  up  some  nice  things  for  them  to  eat, 
some  nice  cakes,  perhaps,  and  jelly.  I  can  see  him  coming  up  ; 
perhaps  there  was  a  servant  along,  and  up  they  came  on  their 
asses.  Just  as  they  came  into  camp,  out  came  the  giant  again, 
and  defied  them.  The  young  man  looks  at  him,  and  then  asks 
"What,  what  docs  that  man  say?  Hark!"  He  hears  the 
giant  defy  Israel,  God's  anointed,  God's  own  people.     His  blood 


THE   WORK   OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK,.  gH 

begins  to  tingle  in  his  veins.  He  goes  into  camp  and  says  to 
his  brothers,  "  What  does  that  mean  ?  Why  do  not  some  of  you 
go  out  to  meet  him?"  "Wiiy,"  they  said,  "you  don't  know 
much  about  fighting,  or  you  would  not  talk  of  such  a  thing  in 
that  way."  Said  he,  "  I  will  go  myself,  then."  "  It's  a  nice 
thing  for  you  to  say  you'll  go.  Why,  one  look  at  him  will  make 
you  run  faster  than  you  ever  ran  in  your  life."  They  began  to 
make  sport  of  him,  and  mock  him.  He  said,  "  If  there  is  no 
one  else  to  go,  I  will  go."  But  they  only  mocked  him.  At  last 
some  one  said  to  the  king,  "There  is  some  one  in  camp  who 
offers  to  go  and  meet  the  giant  of  Gath."  And  the  king  said, 
"Go  bring  him."  And  when  the  king  saw  David,  his  heart 
sunk  within  him  at  once.  What  could  he  do  ?  He  had  not 
been  used  to  using  a  sword.  He  did  not  know  anything  about 
it.  The  king  said  to  him,  '^  You  are  not  able."  He  looked  at 
David.  He  saw  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  use  of  weapons  in 
battle.  Said  David,  "  I  think  I  would  like  to  meet  him.  A  lion 
and  a  bear  got  into  my  father's  fold  one  night,  and  I  killed  them 
both  ;  and  I  believe  that  God  will  be  able  to  deliver  me  from 
the  giant  as  he  did  from  the  lion  and  the  bear."  Some  one  has 
said  there  were  thousands  of  men  in  that  camp  who  knew  that 
God  cou/d  use  them,  but  David  was  the  only  one  there  who  be- 
lieved that  God  wouM  use  him.  Said  David,  "Now  I  will  go." 
So  they  took  him  and  began  to  dress  him  for  the  fight.  They 
began  to  put  armor  upon  him,  and  a  shield,  and  a  helmet.  But 
in  a  few  minutes  it  began  to  act  upon  him.  He  began  to  feel 
uncomfortable  in  it,  and  to  twist  himself,  and  make  wry  faces, 
and  at  last  he  said,  "  I  cannot  fight  in  this  armor."  He  was 
like  a  little  boy  in  his  grandfather's  overcoat.  It  did  not  fit  him 
at  all.  He  said,  "  I  have  not  proved  it.  I  have  proved  the 
God  of  Israel.  I  have  not  proved  this  armor."  It  was  like  the 
way  of  the  world.  A  great  many  are  anxious  to  work  in  Saul's 
armor.  If  he  had  gone  out  in  this  armor  and  conquered,  they 
would  have  said  it  was  Saul's  armor  that  did  it.  Then  he  said, 
"Let  me  take  my  sling.  I  am  used  to  that."  "What !  "  they 
exclaimed,  "  a  sling  to  meet  the  giant  of  Gath  .?  Why,  he  has 
a  helmet,  and   a  sword,  and  a  shield,  and   an  armor-bearer  !  " 


512  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

But  David  said,  "Well,  I  will  only  take  my  sling."  lean 
imagine  how  they  made  all  manner  of  sport  of  him.  But  they 
were  driven  to  extremes,  and  must  have  some  one,  and  so  they 
let  him  go.  Even  his  brothers  must  have  thought  he  would 
surely  be  brought  back  dead. 

So  he  went  to  the  brook  and  he  picked  up  five  smooth  stones 
out  of  the  brook.  O,  my  friends,  God  uses  the  weak  thing,  God 
uses  the  little  thing  !  You  and  I  would  have  wanted  some  good 
big  rocks  to  have  slung  at  him  ;  but  David  got  a  few  little 
smooth  stones,  and  went  to  meet  his  enemy.  The  giant  came 
out  full  of  indignation  and  wrath,  saying :  *'  Am  I  to  take  the 
consent  of  this  man  to  meet  me  ?  "  David  said  to  him,  *'  You 
come  with  a  helmet  and  a  shield  and  an  armor-bearer.  I  come 
in  the  name  of  the  God  of  Israel."  So  if  we  come  in  the  name 
of  God,  will  all  giants  fall.  So  he  puts  one  hand  behind  him 
and  raises  the  other  right  up  and  throws  his  sling,  and  the  gi- 
ant falls  dead  ;  and  then  he  rushed  right  up  to  him  and  took 
his  sword  from  him,  and  cut  off  his  head,  and  with  the  sword 
and  the  giant's  head  in  his  hand,  went  forward  toward  the  king. 
Then  Saul  called  to  his  cheering  army,  ''  Make  haste,  rush 
upon  them!  "  And  it  was  not  long  before  the  whole  camp  of 
the  Philistines  were  falling  before  their  enemy. 

So  God  used  the  man  who  was  willing  to  be  used.  He  used 
the  man  that  had  faith  to  believe  that  God  would  use  him. 

Dr.  William  Taylor  read  a  part  of  the  14th  chapter  of  Mat- 
thew :  *'  And  when  it  was  evening,  His  disciples  came  to  Him, 
saying,  *  This  is  a  desert  place,  and  the  time  is  now  past ;  send 
the  multitude  away,  that  they  may  go  into  the  villages  and  buy 
themselves  victuals.'  But  Jesus  said  unto  them,  '  They  need 
not  depart  ;  give  ye  them  to  eat  ? '"  In  the  course  of  his  short 
address  he  said  :  *'  It  is  never  needful  to  depart  from  Christ. 
The  disciples  misunderstood  the  meaning  and  purpose  of  the 
Master  when  they  asked  Him  to  send  the  multitude  away.  On 
the  last  day,  men  may  be  commanded  to  depart  from  the  Lord, 
but  never  until  then.  What  compassion  He  had  upon  them ! 
How  many  there  were  who  needed  Him,  and  how  like  the  Mas- 
ter all   this  is  1     So  it  is  here  to-day ;  God  will   not  send  you 


THE   WORK    OF    GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  513 

away  fasting.  He  would  not  even  have  the  heart  of  a  man  if 
He  did  not  long  to  feed  the  people  and  heal  their  sufferings  and 
quiet  their  anxieties.  A  little  boy  perhaps  had  these  loaves 
and  fishes  in  his  satchel,  and  Andrew  was  put  to  the  blush 
when  he  said,  'What  are  these  among  so  many?'  He  forgot 
to  whom  he  gave  them.  We  must  not  forget  for  whom  we  do 
what  little  we  can  do.  Robert  Burns  said,  '  Who  does  the  ut- 
most he  can,  does  more.'  I  remember  an  old  Covenanter's  story 
I  used  to  hear.  A  band  of  Covenanters  were  hidden  in  a  cave, 
when  a  man  came  to  them  and  passed  himself  off  as  one  of 
them.  But  when  he  began  to  eat  without  first  saying  grace  they 
knew  he  was  a  spy,  and  had  only  time  to  fly  before  the  dragoons 
were  upon  them.  A  little  chink  lets  in  great  light.  How  can 
a  man  be  a  true  Christian  and  forget  to  give  thanks  ?  Prayers 
are  transmuted  into  blessings,  and  come  down  upon  us." 

Mr.  Moody  then  said  :  "  I  remember  when  I  was  in  London 
hearing  a  clergyman  say,  *  How  astonished  Philip  must  have 
been  when  Jesus  gave  him  a  small  loaf  to  divide  among  the 
multitude,  not  a  grain  of  meal  for  each  one ! '  He  must  have 
broken  oft'  a  very  small  piece  for  the  first  man,  then,  finding  he 
had  as  much  left,  more  for  the  second,  a  little  more  for  the 
third.  But  when  he  found  the  loaf  did  not  after  all  grow  any 
smaller,  he  would  just  break  off  half  of  it  for  each  one.  Faith 
grows  !  If  we  have  faith,  and  will  follow  divine  guidance,  we 
can  all  do  much  for  Christ  and  our  fellow-men.  A'man  may 
say  he  has  no  talents,  he  can  do  nothing  ;  but  I  tell  you  do  what 
you  can  ;  your  faith  will  grow.  Use  what  light  you  have.  If 
you  cannot  be  a  lighthouse,  be  a  tallow  candle.  People  used  to 
have  to  carry  their  candles  with  them,  but  when  a  lot  of  them 
got  together  it  was  bright  enough.  If  each  one  would  bring  a 
little  light  and  let  it  shine,  there  would  be  plenty  of  light." 

The  Farewell  Meetings. 

These  occurred  on  Wednesday,  the  19th  of  April,  and  called 

out  vast  multitudes.     Indeed,  one  of  the  ablest  secular  journals, 

among  other  excellent  things,  says  :  "  Into  the  Hippodrome  he 

has  gathered  day  by  day  the  largest  audiences  ever  gathered  in 


514  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

this  city.  Lawyers,  bankers,  merchants,  some  of  whom  scarcely 
ever  enter  a  church,  are  just  as  much  a  part  of  his  congregations 
as  are  the  second-rate  and  third-rate  boarding-house  people, 
mentioned  so  conspicuously  in  a  recent  analysis  by  a  morning 
journal.  All  classes  and  conditions  of  men  have  been  repre- 
sented in  these  great  revival  meetings. 

"  Mr.  Moody  is  a  man  of  so  driving  a  persistence  and  so  im- 
maculate a  consistency,  that  it  is  scarcely  more  possible  that  he 
should  greatly  change  himself  than  that — to  use  a  biblical  figure 
— a  leopard  should  change  his  spots.  Indeed  there  is  no  pros- 
pect whatever  that  he  will  ever  conform  either  himself  or  his 
style  to  the  demands  of  propriety  or  to  the  requirements  of 
grammatical  rules.  Let  us  frankly  confess  then,  as  we  bid  him 
good-by,  that  we  are  heartily  glad  there  is  none.  He  is  what  he 
is  because  he  is  what  he  is.  We  would  not  change  him.  Make 
him  the  best  read  preacher  in  the  world  and  he  would  instantly 
lose  half  his  power.  Set  him  to  imitating  the  elegant  abstrac- 
tions of  Burnet  and  Barron,  of  Tillotson  and  Stillingfleet,  and 
his  style  would  become  not  only  stilted  but  tame.  Put  him 
through  a  course  of  training  in  systematic  theology,  and  you 
fasten  big  logs  of  fuel  to  the  drivmg  wheels  of  his  engine.  Give 
him  a  smattering  of  logic,  and  forthwith  undue  assumptions, 
beggings  of  the  question,  ig?ioratio  clenchi^  and  ambiguous  mid- 
dles step  {prth  and  solicit  the  derision  of  his  school-bred  hear- 
ers. Even  lend  him  an  English  grammar,  and  we  should  never 
again  be  charmed  by  his  naive  provincial  colloquialisms.  He 
is  just  right  for  his  work  as  he  is — original,  dashing,  careless. 
He  has  not,  it  is  true,  one  word  of  solace  or  of  light  for  the 
honest  cultured  doubter  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  doubter 
knows  too  much  to  expect,  either  of  him  or  of  any  human  be- 
ing, a  solution  of  eternal  mysteries.  Should  Mr.  Moody  address 
himself  to  lifting  the  clouds  from  the  skeptic's  soul,  the  greater 
part  of  his  audience  would  lenrn  atheistic  arguments  which 
would  stop  longer  in  their  memories  than  would  Mr.  Moody's 
attempted  refutation  of  them,  and  the  clouds  themselves  would 
hang  as  thick  and  black  as  ever.  The  masses  of  men  are  not 
all  philosophic  disputants.     They  believe  pretty  much  what  they 


THE   WORK   OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  515 

are  taught  to  believe.  And  these  masses  Mr.  Moody  reaches 
the  more  surely  and  widely  because  he  is  one  of  them  himself, 
and  because  he  has  not  been  made  elegant  and  faultless  by  the 
trimming  and  restraining  processes  of  a  liberal  education.  His 
very  solecisms  sound  sweetly  in  their  ears.  His  familiarity  and 
conversational  manner  please  them.  They  like  his  directness 
and  his  earnestness.  He  is  driving  a  bargain  with  them,  and 
he  *'  talks  sense."  He  is  trying  to  comfort  them,  when  "  from 
the  world's  bitter  wind  they  are  seeking  shelter,"  and  he  fills 
their  souls  with  the  assurance  of  a  Father's  love.  There  they 
sit  and  listen — the  poor,  the  distressed,  the  afflicted,  the  sorrow- 
ful— taking  *' their  fill  of  deep  and  liquid  rest,  forgetful  of  all 
ill."  Life  becomes  pleasantcr  to  them.  The  future  assumes  a 
hopeful  aspect.  Mr.  Moody  touches  more  chords  than  their  pas- 
tor on  Sunday  does.  He  comes  nearer  home.  He  nourishes 
them  more.  His  society  is  more  refreshing.  They  go  away 
from  the  Hippodrome  brightened  and  strengthened.  They  like 
Mr.  Moody  ;  and  so  does  almost  everybody.  Hence  we  would 
not  upon  any  account  have  him  change  himself.  We  enjoy  his 
rude  simplicity  and  his  pell-mell  earnestness,  his  downright  in- 
dividuality, and  his  uncalculating  naturalness.  We  think  deli- 
cious his  "  had  ought  to  have  done,"  and  his  '*  they  come  and 
said  ; "  his  "  you  was  there,"  and  his  "  Pilate,  he  was  a  heathen  ; " 
his  "  meracles  "  and  his  "heavun  ;  "  his  "  Ja-eye-rus's  "  daugh- 
ter, and  his  "  Ca-eye-phas  "  the  high  priest.  We  come  to  de- 
sire his  frequent  "  thank  Gods,"  his  oft-recurring  "  but  thens  ;  " 
his  interlocutory  ejaculations,  and  his  boxing  gesticulations. 
We  love  to  listen  to  the  stories  of  his  wonderful  "  little  boy," 
and  of  his  marvellously  sharp-witted  negroes.  We  admire  his 
child-like  faith,  and  his  unquestioning  trust.  We  are  delighted 
with  his  quaintness  which  makes  men  smile,  and  his  pathos 
which  makes  men  cry.  And  we  shall  not  soon  forget  his  incom- 
parable frankness,  his  broad  undenominationalism,  his  sledge- 
hammer gestures,  his  profuse  diction,  which  stops  neither  for 
colons  nor  for  commas  ;  his  trueness,  which  never  becomes 
conventional  ;  his  naturalness,  which  never  whines  ;  his  abhor- 
rence  of  Phariseeism  and  of  ecclesiastical  Machiavelisra,  his 


5l6  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

mastery  of  his  subject,  his  glorious  self-confidence,  his  blameless 
life,  and  his  unswerving  fealty  to  his  conscience  and  to  his  work." 

A  conservative  and  representative  religious  paper  says  :  His 
preaching,  unlike  that  of  most  of  the  evangelists  we  have  heard, 
covers  the  whole  field  of  doctrinal  truth.  Never  were  the  fun- 
damental truths  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  the  divinity 
of  Christ,  regeneration  by  the  Spirit,  the  vicariousness  of  the 
Saviour's  death,  and  an  endless  retribution,  more  clearly  and 
earnestly  set  forth  than  they  have  been  the  past  ten  weeks  in 
the  Hippodrome.  Nothing  short  of  being  created  anew  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  being  made  complete  in  his  righteousness,  has 
been  the  aim  of  the  pieaching  there  heard. 

Of  Mr.  Sankey  also  it  remarks:  The  singing,  under  the  ad- 
mirable lead  of  Mr.  Sankey,  undoubtedly  contributed  much  to 
the  inspiration  which  animated  the  services,  and  helped  to  draw 
the  vast  crowds  which  felt  their  influence.  Every  hymn  was  a 
gospel  message,  and  the  tunes  seemed  not  only  to  have  been 
made  on  purpose  for  the  hymns,  but  the  expression  given  to  their 
spirit,  and  the  articulation  given  to  their  words,  were  scarcely 
less  than  perfect.  No  singing  was  done  in  Choctaw.  Ever> 
word  was  as  audible  as  though  it  had  been  read  in  plain  English. 

Dr.  Nathan  Bishop,  chairman  of  the  executive  Committee  that 
provided  for  the  Hippodrome  services,  is  reported  to  have  stated 
that :  To  this,  as  to  every  great  work,  there  was  a  prior  history 
of  careful  preparation.  Long  before  Mr.  Moody  came  to  the  city 
a  few  leading  laymen  held  meetings  of  prayer  for  wisdom  and 
guidance,  and  when  the  way  was  opened  for  the  work  to  be  in- 
troduced a  guaranty  fund  of  $25,000  was  pledged,  and  has  since 
been  paid.  The  hearts  of  the  people  were  ripe  for  the  move- 
ment, and  the  results  show  that  those,  churches  most  active  in 
co-operation  have  shared  most  liberally  in  the  fruits.  Five  thou- 
sand converts  have  been  reported,  of  whom  about  2,200  have 
already  found  church  homes,  and  the  remainder  are  under  the 
tutelage  of  the  committees  of  workers,  and  will  soon  decide 
what  churches  they  will  join.  About  $45,000  has  been  expended, 
and  the  Committee  think  never  more  wisely  and  with  greater 
promise  of  good  to  the  world.     Thurlow  Wee4  has  said  that  Mr 


THE   WORK    OF   GRACE    IN    NEW    YORK.  517 

Moody  is  the  most  successful  in  making  his  ideas  stick  in  the 
heart  of  the  people,  of  any  man  he  has  ever  heard.  So  well  are 
the  Committee  satisfied  with  the  results,  that  they  will  be  ready 
to  renew  their  subscriptions  when  the  time  comes. 

Add  to  this  the  vast  sums  contributed  during  the  last  days 
of  the  meeting  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  the  continuance  of  simi- 
lar labors,  and  we  see  the  amazing  popularity  and  power  of 
the  evangelists. 

Mr.  Sankey  said :  I  feel  in  my  heart  to-night  a  sad  minor 
note  sounding  there,  one  of  sadness  and  regret  that  the  meet- 
ings that  have  been  so  blessed  are  so  soon,  so  far  as  we  are 
concerned,  to  pass  away.  This  is  a  sad  thought  and  note  in 
the  song  of  my  heart  to-night ;  yet  still  there  is  a  louder  note, 
one  of  a  joyful  tone,  telling  me  that  we  shall  meet  again.  I 
desire  to  say,  before  giving  way  to  others,  that  in  all  of  our 
work,  both  in  this  and  other  countries,  we  have  never  had 
more  hearty,  warm  and  efficient  help  than  we  have  had  in  New 
York  in  all  the  departments  of  this  work.  My  heart  goes  out 
this  night  to  each  worker  here:  it  goes  out  to  you  all.  We 
feel  that  each  one,  in  whatever  secluded  place,  has  done  his 
duty,  and  my  heart  goes  out  to  each  of  you  with  a  hearty  "God 
bless  you."  I  hope  we  shall  not  look  back  on  the  work  here 
with  regret.  I  hope  we  shall  not  hear  that  it  has  passed  away 
•or  that  the  young  converts  have  fallen  away.  I  can  say,  and 
I  trust  not  boastfully,  from  what  we  have  heard  from  England, 
that  the  young  converts  there  are  standing  well,  and  shall  it  be 
otherwise  in  our  own  country.?  I  trow  not.  I  believe  it  will 
go  on  from  day  to  day,  and  scatter  off  into  these  various 
churches  and  Sunday-schools  and  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociations until  tens  of  thousands  are  raised  up  to  work  for  God. 

Mr.  Moody  has  had  nothing  but  cheerful,  and  intelligent 
cooperation,  and  he  said : 

I  want  to  speak  of  one  thing  that  has  cheered  me  since  com- 
ing here,  beyond  measure,  and  that  is  the  spirit  of  unity.  We 
have  not  heard  a  word  about  denomination  since  I  have  been 
here.  Thanks  be  to  God,  we  are  bound  up  in  one  bundle,  and 
the  moment   we  understand   each  other  a  little  better,  we  shall 


5l8  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

be  able  to  do  greater  work,  and  the  hosts  of  hell  will  not  pre- 
vail against  us. 

Every  young  convert  should  go  into  the  Church  and  go  to 
work.  I  don't  care  what  the  denomination  is,  if  the  minister 
only  preaches  the  Gospel.  Some  of  the  converts  have  asked 
me  about  going  to  theatres  and  balls,  etc.  I  don't  carry  your 
consciences.  I  know  that  I  couldn't  do  those  things.  Let 
Christ  be  your  example.  Of  all  things,  don't  touch  strong 
drink.  That  has  been  the  ruin  of  many  young  converts.  Give 
up  your  right  hand  rather  than  touch  it.  You  are  called  to  be 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  God.  Don't  disgrace  the  name.  We 
want  to  get  higher,  nearer  to  God. 

I  don't  like  these  farewell  meetings.  I  don't  like  to  say 
good-bye.  But  I  can  say,  as  I  once  heard  Lucius  Hart  say, 
*'ril  bid  you  all  good-night  and  I'll  meet  you  in  the  morning." 
May  God  bless  you  all ! 

Mr.  Moody  spoke  of  the  kindly  feeling  that  had  existed 
between  the  ministers  and  others  engaged  in  the  meetings,  and 
Mr.  Sankey  sang  a  farewell  hymn  to  the  tune  of  **  Home  Sweet 
Home. ' 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Mr.  Moody  in  the  South  and  West. 

Six  days  after  his  work  closed  in  the  North,  the  tireless  evan- 
gelist opens  a  brief  campaign  in  Augusta,  Georgia.  Here  a  good 
meeting  had  been  held  by  the  two  friends  of  Mr.  Moody,  Messrs. 
Bliss  and  Whittle,  of  Chicago  ;  and  the  preachers,  without  the  aid 
of  their  song-helpers,  Sankey  and  Bliss,  joined  forces  and  contin- 
ued the  war  against  Satan's  kingdom.  At  their  first  joint  gath- 
ering, the  crowd  assembled  6,000  strong  in  the  Presbyterian  Church 
Grove.  Characteristically  the  fiery  preacher,  who  came  on  to  the 
stand  while  they  were  singing  the  second  verse  of  a  favorite  hymn, 
bade  them  stop  and  put  more  force  and  spirit  into  it.  He  said  it 
might  do  for  a  single  congregation,  but  here  were  six  congregations 
and  they  ought  to  sing  with  power.  They  instantly  responded, 
and  made  the  place  ring  with  enthusiastic  singing.  He  preached 
to  them  Jesus  the  Saviour,  and  made  them  feel  themselves  sinners, 
because  God  had  come  to  seek  them.  The  wonderful  wealth  of 
Scripture  illustration,  the  bountiful  supply  of  anecdotes,  the  im- 
mense energy,  and  the  holy  fervor  of  this  herald  of  salvation,  pro- 
duced a  pleasing  and  powerful  effect  on  the  vast  multitude. 

In  his  Grove  sermon  the  next  day,  he  said  he  had  stood  upon 
one  text  of  the  Bible  for  twenty-one  years,  and  expected  to  stand 
upon  it  forever:  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  heareth 
my  word  and  believeth  it,  hath  eternal  life."  This  was  light  to 
his  soul.  The  way  to  get  darkness  out  of  the  soul  was  to  let  light 
in.  As  the  day  following  would  be  "  Decoration  Day,"  he  referred 
to  the  broken-hearted  ones,  both  North  and  South,  who  were 
mourning  for  friends  lost  in  the  late  war,  and  asked  the  congrega- 
tion to  join  him  in  praying  for  them.  His  heart  is  wide  as  human- 
ity's sorrows  and  necessities,  and  he  knows  no  distinction  between 


520  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

men,  except  as  believers  or  unbelievers.  He  would  have  all  men 
yet  unsaved  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth ;  and  the  deeper 
their  f:ill,  the  more  eagerly  he  implores  them  to  trust  the  all-power- 
ful Redeemer.  Speaking  of  the  woman  healed  by  touching  the 
hem  of  the  Lord's  garment,  he  said:  "Jesus  had  more  medi- 
cine in  the  hem  of  his  garment  than  all  the  apothecaries  in  the 
land." 

The  solemnities  of  "  Decoration  Day  "  occupied  the  minds  of 
the  people  so  fully,  that  no  other  meetings  were  held ;  and  on 
Friday  the  assembly  w-ere  driven  by  a  shower  of  rain  to  take  shel- 
ter in  the  church,  where  the  vast  crowd  were  once  more  enchained 
and  subdued  by  the  eloquence  and  pathos  of  the  preacher,  who 
showed  them  how  to  be  saved  by  trusting  the  Lord  Jesus.  Sunday 
was  a  day  of  immense  labor  on  the  part  of  the  evangelists,  and 
corresponding  results  attended  their  efforts.  At  an  early  hour 
one  church  was  filled  to  hear  a  discourse  to  Christian  workers  on 
courage,  enthusiasm,  and  love.  The  value  and  power  of  these 
qualities  of  character  were  shown  by  incidents  drawn  from  the 
Bible,  from  history  and  personal  experience,  and  So  presented  as 
to  electrify  the  people. 

At  the  Grove  meeting,  Mr.  Moody  was  illustrating  how  it  is 
that  if  we  offend  in  one  point  of  God's  law,  we  are  under  condem- 
nation— "guilty  of  all."  "  If  there  was  a  chain  hanging  to  a  tree, 
and  I  had  to  climb  up  by  that  chain,  and  one  link  of  it  broke, 
I  would  fall  to  the  ground.  So  with  the  law — if  one  link  of  it  is 
broken,  you  fall  into  condemnation."  The  vast  audience,  num- 
bering thousands,  and  swelling  far  beyond  the  enclosure,  were 
held  in  perfect  order,  and  thrilled  by  the  earnest,  glowing  elo- 
quence of  the  speaker. 

The  spacious  church  was  packed  at  night  by  men  only  to  listen 
to  the  sermon  on  the  New  Birth  ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  exercises 
half  a  hundred  stood  up  for  the  prayers  of  Christians. 

The  whole  community  became  thoroughly  roused  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religion,  and  nobody  feared  to  address  his  neighbor  about 
these  matters  of  universal  concern.  The  next  day  the  discourse 
on  Work  was  preached  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  lecture  on  the 


MR.    MUUDV    IN    Tllli    SuUTlI    AND    WEST.  52 1 

Blood  in  the  evening  ;  and  though  there  was  a  cold,  heavy  rain, 
large  houses  greeted  the  evangelists.  The  papers  said:  "Men 
may  sneer  at  Mr.  Moody,  but  he  is  the  best  exponent  of  earnest, 
homely  eloquence  that  the  country  contains.  His  power  has  not 
been  exaggerated.  He  talks  to  the  average  man  and  moves  him 
as  no  other  preacher  of  the  present  time  has  succeeded  in  doing." 
Forty-nine  persons  remained  to  inquire  personally,  after  the  even- 
ing sermon,  how  they  might  be  cleansed  by  the  blood.  In  the 
afternoon  more  than  one  hundred  asked  for  prayers.  Thus  the 
interest  rose  higher  each  day,  and  the  whole  country-side  poured 
forth  its  multitudes  to  hear  the  Gospel. 

His  sermons  on  Heaven  and  Hell  were,  in  substance,  the  same 
which  have  been  reported  in  this  volume  ;  and  under  their  influ- 
ence, a  very  large  number  were  brought  into  the  inquiry-rooms, 
and  there  were  individually  directed  to  Christ,  "  the  way,  the  truth, 
and  the  life."  Sunday  was  the  great  day  of  triumph.  In  his  ser- 
mon on  Excuses,  Mr.  Moody  represented  one  man  as  saying,  I 
would  like  to  be  converted,  but  that  preacher  is  a  Northern  man ; 
I  cannot  be  converted  under  him.  Then  he  would  tell  you,  go  to- 
night, go  this  instant,  and  seek  some  Southern  minister,  but,  by  all 
means,  be  converted ;  your  eternal  happiness  depends  on  it. 
Take  your  eyes  from  the  minister,  he  is  only  the  messenger  of 
Christ,  and  place  them  upon  the  Saviour — don't  trust  or  look  to 
man,  but  to  Christ. 

Perhaps  the  use  of  this  form  of  address  was  suggested  by  cer- 
tain insinuations  and  charges  cast  forth  by  some  petty  minds. 
These  were  vigorously  repelled  by  the  press  and  the  true-hearted 
people  of  the  South,  who  gave  the  Northern  evangelists  a  grand 
cordial  welcome  and  full  co-operation.  The  efforts  to  fasten 
severe  language  against  the  South  upon  him,  and  to  represent 
him  as  working  in  the  interest  of  Northern  radicals,  were  promptly 
overthrown  by  ministers  and  editors,  who  declared  themselves 
delighted  with  his  utter  freedom  from  all  that  could  alienate  or 
irritate,  and  his  evident  oneness  of  purpose  to  bring  men  as  sin- 
ners to  the  Saviour.  On  the  day  of  his  departure  from  Augusta, 
Tuesday,  May  9th,  he  said  he  "  desired  to  say  a  few  words  be- 


2  22  MOODY    AND    SAX  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

fore  announcing  his  text.  When  Mr.  Sankey  and  himself  were 
preparing  to  go  to  the  north  of  Scotland,  their  friends  said  they 
must  expect  to  find  a  different  order  of  things  there — a  condition 
of  affairs  wholly  opposed  to  their  plans  and  purposes  ;  so,  too, 
as  to  Ireland  and  London.  But  they  had  been  treated  with  great 
kindness  in  all  these  places.  They  found  the  blessings  of  the 
Gospel  and  the  power  of  the  Gospel  the  same  in  them  all.  When 
he  started  South,  he  had  been  advised  to  expect  quite  a  conflict- 
ing status  of  affairs ;  that  a  Northern  man  would  not  be  kindly 
received  at  the  South,  especially  at  Augusta.  He  had  not  re- 
ceived an  unkind  word  since  he  had  been  South.  He  had  found 
here  the  same  freedom  to  which  he  had  alluded.  He  wished 
especially  to  say  that  he  had  no  sympathy  at  all  with  men  in  any 
section  of  this  country  who  were  continually  seeking  to  stir  up 
strife  and  embitter  the  people  against  each  other.  He  believed 
there  would  never  have  been  any  war  if  Christians  had  clung  to- 
gether as  they  should.  Now  that  peace  Jiad  come,  he  hoped  that 
Christians  would  stand  and  work  together  for  the  peace  and  wel- 
fare of  all,"  Then,  turning  to  his  sermon,  he  made  a  strong  plea 
for  men  to  come  and  be  saved.  Such  was  the  spirit  and  such  the 
method  of  our  evangelist  in  the  brief  labors  bestowed  on  the  field 
of  Georgia,  which  were  blessed  with  results  that  live  and  operate 
upon  tens  of  thousands,  and  make  the  names  of  these  brethren 
fragrant  in  all  the  South. 

On  their  way  North,  they  were  received  with  open  arms  at 
Nashville,  Louisville,  St.  Louis,  and  Kansas  City,  where  they 
addressed  great  audiences. 

At  Chicago  Mr.  Moody  was  the  guest  of  the  princely  merchant, 
his  old  and  tried  friend,  Mr.  John  V.  Farwell,  who  helped  him 
from  the  early  days  of  his  humble  mission  work,  and  stood  by 
him  through  the  vast  responsibilities  of  his  later  service  for 
Christ,  when  tens  of  thousands  in  tlie  Old  World  and  the  New 
were  hanging  on  his  words.  One  of  the  first  things  to  be  done 
was  to  remove  the  indebtedness  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  that 
rested  on  his  church  in  Chicago  Avenue.  Tiie  following  descrip- 
tion will  show  how  great  things  he  has  attempted  for  God : 


MR.    MOODY    IN    THE    SOUTH    AND    WEST.  523 

Its  erection  was  begun  at  the  time  Mr.  Moody  left  the  city, 
about  tliree  years  ago.  The  dimensions  of  the  structure  are 
120x100  feet.  The  church  is  built  of  brick,  with  neat  stone 
facings.  There  are  several  small  towers  at  the  different  corners, 
and  one  good-sized  tower,  having  a  height  of  no  feet,  on  the 
southeast  corner.  A  bell  weighing  4,000  pounds  has  been  placed 
in  the  large  tower,  swinging  for  the  present  in  an  open  belfry. 
Above  the  central  part  of  the  audience-room  is  a  magnificent 
skylight  of  various  colors.  This  is  thirty-six  feet  in  diameter. 
Above  it  on  the  exterior,  in  the  centre  of  the  slate  roof,  is  a 
large  skylight  of  heavy,  hammered  plate-glass,  to  protect  the 
valuable  inner  skylight  from  damage.  In  the  rear  of  the  pulpit 
is  a  beautiful  circular  stained  window,  having  an  open  Bible  pic- 
tured in  the  centre.  The  other  windows  are  of  the  Gothic  style, 
and  the  glass  is  red  and  white. 

Opening  from  the  main  audience-room  are  infant  class-rooms 
capable  of  accommodating  120  pupils  each.  The  walls  and  ceil- 
ings of  these  apartments  are  frescoed  plainly ;  on  some  of  the 
walls  are  illuminated  mottoes:  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God;" 
"Even  a  Child  is  Known  by  His  Doings;"  "Thou  God  Seest 
Me  ; "  "  God  Is  Love,"  etc.  On  the  first  floor  of  the  church  are 
plainly  finished  rooms  for  lectures,  sociables,  prayer  meetings, 
committee  meetings,  and  other  purposes.  The  largest  lower 
apartment  will  seat  700  people.  The  rooms  on  this  floor  have 
been  in  use  for  some  time.  There  is  a  basement  underneath  the 
first  floor,  in  which  are  seven  furnaces.  In  a  confined  space  be- 
neath the  pulpit  in  the  upper  room  there  are  also  two  furnaces. 
The  audience-room  of  the  edifice  is  reached  by  easy  winding 
staircases  leading  from  the  vestibules.  This  department  occupies 
almost  the  entire  interior  of  the  second  story.  There  is  a  central 
space,  something  like  the  orchestra  of  a  theatre,  provided  with 
plain  chairs  for  450  persons.  Directly  in  front  is  the  pulpit  plat- 
form, and  partly  encircling  the  central  section  are  what  are  called 
the  lower  and  upper  galleries.  These  are  fitted  up  with  ash-pews, 
and  about  750  people  can  be  seated  below,  with  an  equal  number 
above.     There  are  a  number  of  columns  in  front  of  the  galleries, 


5^4 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


which  are  intended  to  be  fitted  up  with  heavy  curtains,  both  in 
front  and  extending  back,  so  as  to  make  distinct  Sunday-school 
class-rooms.  When  all  of  these  curtains  are  in  their  proper 
places  the  central  space  near  the  pulpit  will  be  used  during 
Sunday-school  hours  by  a  Bible-class  of  adults.  The  somewhat 
peculiar  construction  of  the  main  audience-room  is  due  to  the 
design  of  making  it  serve  the  double  purpose  of  a  place  for 
regular  worship  and  to  accommodate  the  Sunday-school  that  has 
already  outgrown  the  rooms  on  tlie  first  floor. 

The  Opening. 

By  7  :  30  the  vast  edifice  was  more  than  two-thirds  filled  with 
devout  worshippers. 

The  exercises  of  the  evening  began  by  a  service  of  song,  led 
by  Dr.  Miller,  in  which  the  congregation  joined,  and  which  occu- 
pied the  first  half  hour  from  the  time  of  opening  until  the  services 
began. 

Mr.  Sankey  rose  and  said  he  did  not  know  that  he  should  be 
able  to  sing  the  hymn,  but  he  would  try.  The  fact  was  he  had 
just  come  from  a  sick-bed,  but  was  so  anxious  to  be  present  that 
night,  he  had  endeavored  to  brace  up  all  he  could.  He  did  hope 
that  the  day  would  come  when  they  might  reap  a  rich  harvest 
from  that  church.  After  a  request  that  the  choir  on  the  platform 
would  join  in  the  chorus,  Mr.  Sankey  sang  the  hymn,  and,  though 
evidently  not  in  his  usual  good  voice,  the  sweet  though  powerful 
tones,  and  well-known,  stirring  manner  of  delivery,  thrilled  his 
hearers  and  left  an  evident  impression. 

Mr.  Moody  was  reminded  of  a  little  incident  when  their  first 
building  was  destroyed  by  fire.  While  looking  at  the  ruins  a 
little  girl  had  come  up  to  him,  and,  with  tears  in  her  eyes  and 
broken  voice,  said :  "  Oh,  Mr.  Moody,  do  you  think  we  shall  ever 
have  another  church  ? "  He  was  forcibly  reminded  of  that  ques- 
tion, looking  around  at  the  fine  building  he  stood  in.  It  was 
calculated  that  500,000  children  throughout  the  land  had  con- 
tributed their  mile  toward  building  that  church.    Forty-two  Slates 


MR.  MOODY    IN    THE    SOUTH    AND    WEST.  525 

liad  been  heard  from,  and  one  letter  had  come  from  China,  from 
a  man  who  had  heard  of  their  doings,  and  felt  the  old  Sunday- 
school  fire  awakened  in  his  heart,  and  sent  on  to  help  in  the  work. 
The  officers  of  the  church  would  now  pass  around  and  take  up  a 
collection  ;  and  he  would  ask  that  each  one  give  according  as  the 
Lord  had  blessed  him  ;  give  willingly ;  he  wanted  nothing  that 
was  not  so  given.  They  had  determined  not  to  dedicate  the 
building  until  it  was  entirely  paid  for.  It  was  so  bad  to  be  in 
debt ;  he  could  not  bear  to  look  any  one  in  the  face  if  he  owed 
anything.  He  believed  that  not  a  brick  had  been  put  into  the 
building  that  had  not  been  paid  for. 

After  the  collection,  amounting  to  some  thirteen  thousand  dol- 
lars, he  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  platform,  and  in  his  usual 
attitude,  with  the  open  Bible  in  his  right  hand,  spoke  as  follows: 

"Eighteen  years  ago,  two  young  men,  over  on  Michigan  Ave- 
nue, started  out  to  find  some  work  to  do  in  a  mission-school. 
The  Superintendent  of  Wells  Street  School  told  me  if  I  could 
find  a  class  I  could  attend  one.  I  got  eventually  eighteen  chil- 
dren ;  that  was  the  happiest  Sunday  I  have  ever  known.  I  had 
found  out  what  my  mission  was.  We  afterward  went  down  to 
Market  Hall  and  opened  there.  That  ought  to  have  been  called 
the  Singing  Church.  It  was  nearly  paid  for  out  of  the  hymn- 
books.  He  himself  could  sing  in  the  heart,  as  well  as  Mr.  Sankey, 
but  he  could  not  get  it  out  through  his  lips.  He  wanted  a  singer, 
and  asked  for  one,  and  found  Mr.  Sankey.  They  got  on  very 
well  then.  First  he  would  tell  a  story,  then  Mr.  Sankey  would 
sing  a  hymn  ;  then  he  would  tell  another  story,  and  so  on.  Then 
their  hall  was  burnt  down,  and  the  war  came  on  and  broke  them 
up,  so  they  moved  to  a  hall  on  Kinzie  Street.  It  was  not  a  very 
nice  hall ;  it  was  often  let  for  a  dance  on  Saturday  nights,  and 
as  he  did  not  believe  in  hiring  any  one  to  do  any  work  on  Sun- 
days, he  used  to  go  down  himself  and  roll  out  the  lager-beer 
barrels,  sweep  out  the  dirt  and  cigar-stubs  and  get  ready  for 
meeting.  Next  they  moved  to  a  corner-store  on  Dearborn  Street, 
and  there  they  had  a  blessed  time ;  it  was  here  he  first  got  his 
passion  for  souls.     In    1864  they  found  friends  to  put  up  the 


526 


MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


church  on  Illinois  Street,  and  so  they  had  gone  on.  At  one  time 
his  sole  ambition  was  to  be  a  prosperous  business  man,  but  he 
found  out  that  he  could  not  get  on  ;  there  was  something  that 
told  him  to  serve  the  Master,  and  he  used  to  go  around  and  talk 
to  men  about  Christ. 

"  In  1865  we  found  we  had  to  organize  a  church.  We  didn't 
know  anything  about  that,  so  we  called  a  council.  Don't  think 
there  was  ever  such  a  council  in  Chicago.  There  were  Baptists, 
Methodists,  Presbyterians.  Presbyterians  said,  Start  a  Presby- 
terian Church.  That  wouldn't  do.  And  so  with  the  other 
denominations.  So  they  left  us.  In  1871  we  were  burned  out. 
Sankey  joined.  In  1872  went  to  England,  just  to  study.  I  then 
went  to  work,  and  I  found  it  was  such  a  field  that  I  went  to  work, 
and  just  to  show  you  how  egotistical  I  was,  I  thought  if  the  church 
could  get  along  without  me  a  year  it  would  be  doing  well,  and  if 
it  could  get  along  without  Sankey  six  months  it  would  be  won- 
derful. It  was  just  such  a  night  as  this  when  I  left;  when  I  went 
up  to  the  little  old  church  and  bid  my  friends  good-bye.  Well,  I 
stayed  three  years,  and  when  I  came  back  I  found  a  larger  church 
than  I  left,  and  a  better  superintendent  than  I  was,  and  that  took 
all  the  egotism  out  of  .me.  We  have  a  church  here  that  ought  to 
be  self-sustaining.  If  we  could  get  ten  cents  a  week  from  each 
one  that  comes  here,  that  would  make  the  church  selfsustaininjj. 
That's  the  way  they  do  in  Scotland,  and  all  the  churches  in 
Scotland  are  flourishing. 

"  What  we  want  is  diversity  of  gifts.  Some  have  a  gift  to  teach  ; 
some  to  preach ;  some  to  peddle  tracts ;  some  to  go  out  and  get 
children.  Now  let  each  one  go  and  find  what  his  mission  is,  and 
then  do  it.  We  want  workers  in  the  church  ;  people  that  will 
work  365  days  in  the  year.  We  dont  want  idlers.  We  want 
every  man  who  takes  an  interest  in  Christ  to  take  hold  and  work, 
and  what  would  be  the  result  if  every  Christian  in  Chicago 
would  work.  I  have  been  asked  what  was  the  denomination  of 
this  church.  Well,  the  church  was  started  a  long  time  ago,  and 
it  had  no  name  then,  and  I  don't  know  what  to  call  it  now.  The 
greatest  sticklers  against  undenominational  churches  are  the  un- 


MR.  MOODY    IN    THE    SOUTH    AND    WEST.  527 

believers.  I  remember  that  when  I  went  into  the  liousc  of  a 
drunken  blasphemer  to  get  him  to  go  to  church,  lie  would  ask, 
'What  church  is  it  .5*  My  mother  was  a  Metiiodist ;  I  won't  go 
to  church  only  to  a  Methodist.'  He  seemed  to  think  he  would 
be  going  back  on  his  mother  if  he  went  to  any  other  cliurch. 
The  time  has  come  for  the  church  of  God  to  use  common  sense, 
and  get  churches  that  we  can  get  the  people  into.  Now  what 
are  we  to  do.^  We  open  our  doors  and  say  '  Come  in.'  If  they 
don't  come,  why  we  must  go  out  and  get  them.  During  the  war 
we  had  not  men  enough.  What  did  we  do.''  Why  we  called  far 
volunteers.  So  in  this  terrible  fight  with  the  devil  the  church 
must  call  out  volunteers.  I  know  fifty  men  in  Chicago  who  can 
preach,  and  who  will  preach,  and  it  won't  cost  a  cent.  The  whole 
tendency  of  the  church  seems  to  be  to  get  away  from  the  people. 
What  the  church  wants  is  to  get  back  to  the  people:  to  get  lay- 
men to  preach  to  us — men  like  Barnabas,  full  of  faith  and  the 
Spirit.  The  church  in  Chicago  is  going  backward,  and  it  must 
be  revived  by  laymen,  whom  we  can  use.  We  must  have  mission 
Sunday-schools  started  all  over  the  city. 

When  he  spoke  on  his  old  down-town  platform,  Farwell  Hall 
was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity.  Immense  as  it  is,  it  f^iiled 
to  afford  sufficient  room  to  accommodate  the  thousands  of  peo- 
ple who  would  go  anywhere  to  hear  the  great  evangelist.  The 
halls  and  corridors  were  thronged,  and  the  crowd,  as  it  poured 
into  and  away  from  the  building,  made  pedestrianism  almost  an 
impossibility  on  the  busiest  street  of  the  city.  The  audience  was 
one  of  those  enthusiastic  masses  of  people,  the  current  of  whose 
sympathies  sweeping  along  in  an  overpowering  fashion,  led  cap- 
tive everybody  present,  no  matter  how  greatly  they  may  have  in- 
tended to  scoff  and  sneer.  Then  Bliss  sang  and  Moody  talked. 
As  ever,  his  speech  was  full  of  points.  How  clever  and  apropos 
most  of  them  were  !     He  is  a  genius  in  that,  certainly. 

Take  this  as  one  of  a  sQore.  His  text  was,  "What  shall  I  then 
do  for  Jesus,  which  is  called  Christ?"  and  he  was  urging  upon 
those  present  the  importance  of  doing  what  they  found  to  do  with 
all  their  might — and  now.     Four  years  ago,  he  had  talked  to  them 


528  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

in  that  same  hall  on  the  same  subject,  and  then  had  committed 
the  greatest  mistake  of  his  life.  He  had  sent  them  home  with 
the  request  that  on  the  next  Sabbath  they  should  come  back  and 
tell  him  how  they  would  answer  it.  "  How  grievous  a  mistake  !  " 
said  the  preacher,  as  his  voice  quivered,  and  tears  formed  in  his 
e\'es.  "  Think  of  it,  friends  !  The  idea  of  giving  you  a  week  to 
think  of  what  you  should  do  for  Jesus  !  "  And  then,  with  that  1 
fearfully  rapid  enunciation  of  his  that  has  made  him  a  terror  to 
short-hand  writers  the  world  over,  Moody  went  on  :  "  That  Sun- 
day never  came.  Nearly  four  years  have  past,  and  to-day  we 
meet  again  for  the  first  time  in  this  hall.  The  fire  came  the  next 
day  after  our  meeting,  and  swept  the  city  bare,  and  scattered  us 
all.  How  great  the  folly  !  In  a  week  we  may  all  be  in  eternity. 
Decide  to-day,  then,  what  you  will  do  for  Jesus,  w^hich  is  called 
Christ."  Other  recollections  crowded  in  upon  the  speaker.  It 
was  in  Farwell  Hall  that  he  had  first  met  Mr.  Bliss,  and  had 
caught  the  idea  of  the  value  of  a  "  sweet  singer  "  in  his  services. 
He  should  not  have  taken  Mr.  Sankey  with  him  to  England  if  it 
had  not  been  that  here,  in  that  hall,  he  had  seen  how  glorious  it 
was  to  hear  sung  the  praises  of  the  Lord.  And  then  he  went  on 
and  told  how  on  yestermorn  he  had  seen  off  on  the  train  his  loved 
co-laborer,  Mr.  Sankey,  now  gone  back  to  Pennsylvania  unde?: 
the  advice  of  his  physicians,  who  despaired  of  his  life  if  he  con- 
tinued his  labors  without  intermission  for  rest." 

Mr.  Moody  himself,  when  urged  by  the  pastors  and  clergymen 
to  undertake  evangelistic  work  in  Chicago,  at  once  pleaded  that 
he  must  have  opportunity  for  bodily  and  mental  recuperation. 
He  was  worn  ;  and  not  only  so,  he  was  weary  of  repeating  himself, 
and  thought  the  people  must  tire  at  hearing  what  had  been  so 
often  printed  as  it  fell  from  his  lips.  He  wished  time  for  study 
that  he  might  gather  new  and  fresh  thoughts  and  illustrations  for 
the  fall  campaign.  He  could  not  pledge  himself  to  begin  at  Chi- 
cago, as  there  were  negotiations  pending  with  Boston ;  but  at 
some  early  day  he  would  communicate  his  plans  to  them,  which 
he  hoped  would  be  according  to  the  will  of  God,  and  meet  their 
views.  Thus  he  is  "  that  exceptional  character,  a  prophet  with 
honor  in  his  own  country." 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  529 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Moody  and  Sankey  in  Chicago. 

From  the  first  tidings  of  the  work  in  Great  Britain  many  of 
the  people  of  Chicago  had  been  deeply  interested  for  the  success 
ot  their  fellow  citizens  abroad.  When  evil  rumors  were  sent 
forth  concerning  these  strangers,  Chicago  speedily  put  them 
down,  and  endorsed  the  brethren  as  true  men  and  worthy  ser- 
vants of  Christ.  It  was  also  eagerly  desired  that,  on  their  re- 
turn to  the  United  States,  they  should  begin  their  evangel- 
istic labors  at  home.  But  other  counsels  prevailed  ;  and  we 
have  recorded  the  marvelous  triumphs  of  their  campaigns  in  the 
centres  of  population,  and  among  the  cultivated  people  of  the 
East.  Nothing  like  them  ever  occurred  ;  and  the  expectation 
of  their  friends  waxed  higher  as  the  time  drew  near  for  their 
advent  in  the  Northwest. 

October  first,  1876,  was  the  date  agreed  upon  for  the  com- 
mencement of  the  meetings  ;  and  by  that  time  all  things  had 
been  got  in  readiness  by  the  various  committees.  The  Taber- 
nacle, located  on  the  corner  of  Franklin  and  Monroe  streets, 
was  tested  in  every  possible  way.  The  great  choir  of  six  hun- 
dred voices  found  its  acoustic  properties  excellent  on  Saturday 
evening,  and  on  Sunday  morning  at  precisely  eight  o'clock,  Mr. 
Moody  took  his  stand  at  the  railing  in  front  of  the  platform. 
He  declared  the  building  to  be  the  best  for  his  purpose  he  had 
ever  used  ;  and  now  seven  thousand  people  were  reverently 
waiting  to  hear  the  word  of  God  from  his  lips.  The  ushers 
were  the  leading  men  of  the  prominent  churches,  who  wore  a 
badge  of  ribbon.     The  choir  gave  with  great  effect  the  hymn 

"  Wc  praise  Thee,  O  God, 
For  the  Son  of  Thy  love." 

Mr.  Moody  appeared  a  stout,  muscular,  healthy-looking  man  in 


530 


MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


middle  life.  He  has  a  small  bright  eye  that  reveals  the  humor 
there  is  in  him.  Once  he  set  his  hearers  to  laughing,  and  fell 
but  little  short  of  that  several  times.  In  his  manner  he  is  warm, 
hearty,  prepossessing.  He  is  a  man  of  profound  conviction,  and 
deep  feeling.  He  is  intensely  in  earnest,  and  he  does  not  dis- 
tract his  hearers'  attention  from  his  theme  to  himself.  So  much, 
few  who  have  ever  met  him  or  heard  him  preach  will  hesitate 
to  say.  He  said  without  other  introduction  :  I  want  to  give  you 
a  passage  from  the  Word  of  God  as  a  kind  of  watchword  for 
these  meetings  :  "  Not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit, 
saith  the  Lord."  We  have  got  to  take  our  minds  off  these  large 
meetings  and  fix  them  on  God.  If  we  are  to  have  a  great  bless- 
ing in  the  Northwest  it  must  come  from   God.     Now  let  us  all 

sing  the  hymn, 

Joy  to  the  world  ! 
The  Lord  is  come. 

It  is  not  in  the  books  but  it  is  in  your  hearts." 

Mr.  Sankey  sang  the  solo,  "Only  an  Armor-Bearer,"  first, 
however,  lifting  up  his  voice  for  God's  blessing  upon  the  singing 
as  well  as  upon  the  preaching  in  the  meetings  which  were  to  be 
held,  and  that  the  Gospel  might  be  carried,  on  the  wings  of  song, 
into  many  hard  and  careless  hearts. 

"When  I  first  came  in  here,'"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "  and  saw  that 
text,  '  I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life,'  I  said  to  myself,  that 
is  just  the  chapter  to  open  with.  We  want  the  resurrection 
power  right  here  in  Chicago."  He  then  read  the  account  of  the 
raising  of  Lazarus,  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  John. 

Another  song  by  Mr.  Sankey. 

Hark  !  the  voice  of  Jesus  crying, 
Who  shall  go  and  work  to-day  ? 

Another  hymn  was  sung  by  the  whole  congregation,  and  then 
Mr.  Moody  announced  his  text : 

Jesus  said,  take  ye  away  the  stone. — John  xi,  39. 

Now,  I  haven't  any  doubt  that  nearly  all  this  congregation  are 
looking  for  a  blessing  in  Chicago, — if  you  are  not  you  ought  to 
be, — and  if  Uierc  is  not  a  great  blessing  on  these  meetings  it  will 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  53 1 

be  our  own  fault.  God  is  always  ready  to  bless.  I  know  there 
are  some  people  who  say,  "We  must  wait  God's  lime  ;  there  is 
a  set  time  to  favor  Zion ;  "  but  I  tell  you  my  friends,  the  set  time 
to  favor  Zion  is  when  we  are  ready.  God  will  do  His  work  if 
we  will  only  do  ours.  Whenever  the  dead  are  raised,  there  must 
always  be  somebody  to  roll  away  the  stone. 

The  impression  made  was  solemn,  all  felt  assured  of  the 
Divine  presence  and  blessing. 

The  congregation  of  the  morning  gave  a  feeble  idea  of  what 
would  be  the  attendance  in  the  afternoon.  The  doors  were  to 
be  opened  at  three  o'clock,  but  the  crowds  began  to  gather  at 
all  the  entrances  long  before  that  hour.  From  every  door,  as 
soon  as  it  was  opened,  a  dense  throng  of  humanity  pushed  and 
jostled  its  way  into  the  Tabernacle,  down  to  the  main  floor,  and 
up  into  the  galleries.  Men  and  women  of  all  ages  and  every 
condition,  the  devout  and  the  undevout,  the  church-goers  and 
the  Sabbath-breakers,  Sunday-school  children  and  hoodlums, 
without  regard  to  age,  sex,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude,  all 
pressed  into  the  Tabernacle  and  the  eight  thousand  chairs  dis- 
appeared from  view  like  a  field  of  wheat  under  a. visitation  of 
locusts.  By  twenty  minutes  of  four  o'clock  the  building  was 
full,  up-stairs,  and  down-stairs.  The  crowd  filled  Monroe  street, 
sidewalks  and  driveway. 

The  sidewalk  on  the  south  side  of  the  building  was  full.  The 
crowd  at  every  entrance  was  so  dense  that  a  person  could  hardly 
work  his  way  up  to  the  door.  Scores  and  even  hundreds  of 
people  were  going  away  in  all  directions.  Inside,  the  spectacle 
was  one  not  often  to  be  seen.  Chairs  were  placed  clear  up  to 
the  platform,  and  in  the  aisles  so  far  as  prudence  would  permit. 
Every  available  inch  of  room  was  utilized,  and  everywhere  were 
human  beings  packed  so  closely  that  they  could  hardly  rise 
to  sing.  Mr.  Moody  had  before  him  about  nine  thousand 
persons. 

It  was  announced  to  the  throng  of  people  on  the  streets  in 
front  of  the  Tabernacle,  that  an  *'  overplus  meeting  "  wouKl  be 
held  in  Farwell  Hall,  at  which  Mr.  Sankey  would  sing,  and  in 
about  five  minutes  that  hall  was  crowded  to  the  utmost,  leaving 


532  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

Still  a  large  number  of  persons  who  were  obliged  to  console 
themselves  with  a  hope  of  being  in  season  next  time. 

At  this  overflow  meeting  one  of  the  speakers  said:  We 
have  been  asking  God  to  give  us  a  great  blessing,  but  this 
is  far  beyond  all  our  expectations.  We  are  of  one  accord,  but 
we  cannot  all  be  in  one  place,  because  there  is  no  one  place 
large  enough  to  hold  us  all.  A  brother  spoke  of  the  Christiau 
unity  which  marked  the  preparation  for  and  commencement  of 
the  meetings,  saying,  We  are  all  one  for  Christ,  and  all  are  with 
Christ.  We  are  together  in  the  ship,  and  Christ  is  standing  on 
the  shore,  and  telling  us  to  let  down  our  nets  for  a  draught. 
We  will  let  down  the  nets  into  the  waters  of  Chicago,  on  the 
right  side  of  the  ship,  and  it  may  be  that  we  shall  catch  so  many 
souls  that  we  shall  have  to  send  out  to  other  cities  for  help  in 
the  work  of  gathering  them  in,  as  the  disciples  sent  for  help  to 
the  other  ships  around  them. 

The  work  was  continued  Monday  in  Farvvell  Hall,  under  as 
favorable  auspices  as  those  with  which  it  commenced  on  Sunday 
in  the  great  Tabernacle.  At  neither  of  the  gatherings  of  the 
previous  day,  were  the  evangelist's  theory  and  practice  of  labor 
in  this  revival  campaign  better  developed  than  at  the  mid-day 
prayer  service. 

A  year  ago,  in  reply  to  an  invitation  to  come  to  Chicago,  Mr, 
Moody  wrote  that  he  would  gladly  do  so  when  all  seemed  pre- 
pared, but  not  before.  His  pulpit  expressions  of  Sunday  were 
distinctively  sermons  addressed  to  Christians.  Once,  he  argues, 
have  Christians  like-minded  and,  to  use  his  own  figure  of  speech, 
working  well  in  the  same  harness  and  under  the  same  easy 
yoke,  and  the  work  well  begun  is  half  done.  He  had  all  the 
clergymen  whom  he  could  reach  around  him  on  the  platform. 
This  at  once  identified  each  of  them  with  the  revival  movement ; 
it  disarmed  a  prejudice  whicii  might  have  existed,  that  the  work 
was  not  in  harmony  with  cliurch  work  and  pastoral  work  in  tlie 
various  congregations  of  the  city.  Mr.  Moody  felt  the  great 
want  here  as  well  as  elsewhere  was — piety.  Before  any  vast  or 
tfTeclive  good  could  be  accomplii^icd  those  professedly  Chris- 
tian must  attain  this  plane,  must  pass  through  the  valley  of  hu- 


THE    GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  533 

miliation  before  the  heights  of  blessing  could  be  compassed. 
No  better  mode  of  reaching  such  results  was  known  than  by 
enlisting  pastors  and  churches  in  the  campaign,  and  thus  saving 
all  who  made  a  public  profession  at  the  Tabernacle  meetings, 
and  leading  them  into  the  communion  of  those  churches  to  which 
their  inclination  turned  as  to  a  home. 

Farwell  Hall  can  comfortably  accommodate  twenty-three 
hundred  persons.  At  twelve  o'clock  when  the  meeting  was 
opened,  every  sitting  was  occupied.  The  gallery  was  filled  in 
every  part,  many  standing  around  the  back  tiers,  and  scores 
disposed  in  the  stairways  leading  down  to  the  platform.  The 
space  in  the  main  hall  under  the  gallery  was  almost  impassable, 
the  entrance  from  Madison  street  overflowing  down  even  to  the 
sidewalks  and  up  into  the  hall.  The  aisles  contained  many 
more,  while  on  the  outer  edges  the  listeners  had  gathered.  The 
front  of  the  platform  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Moody,  Mr.  Sankey 
being  at  his  side  with  the  record  of  the  singing  pilgrim.  The 
rest  of  the  stage  was  filled  with  many  of  Chicago's  leading  min- 
isters, clergymen  representing  many  denominations. 

During  the  delivery  of  Mr.  Moody's  remarks,  the  audience, 
especially  those  who  were  near  the  platform,  were  visibly  moved 
by  the  almost  tearful  earnestness  with  which  he  urged  his 
hearers  to  come  to  God  with  broken  and  contrite  hearts.  Mr. 
Moody  then  prayed,  and  the  brief,  simple  petition  was  so  effect- 
ive as  to  move  some  even  to  tears.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
prayer,  Mr.  Sankey  sung  the  hymn,  "  O  !  to  be  nothing,"  and 
said  before  singing  it :  "  Neither  is  he  that  planteth  anything  ; 
neither  is  he  that  watereth  anything." 

At  one  of  the  meetings  '*  Waiting  and  Watching  for  Me," 
was  given  by  request. 

When  my  final  farewell  to  the  world  T  have  said, 

And  gladly  lie  down  to  my  rest  : 
When  softly  the  watchers  shall  say,  "  He  is  dead," 

And  fold  my  pale  hands  o'er  my  breast  ; 
And  when,  with  my  glorified  vision,  at  lost 

The  walls  of  "  That  City  "  I  see. 


534  MOODY   AND   SANKEY   IN   AMERICA 

\Vill  any  one  then  at  the  beautiful  gate 
Be  waiting  and  watching  for  me  ? 

Cho. — Will  any  one  then  at  the  beautiful  gate 
Be  waiting  and  watching  for  me? 
Be  waiting  and  watching, 
Be  wailing  and  watching  for  me  ? 

Oh  should  I  be  brought  there,  by  the  bountiful  grace. 

Of  Him  who  delights  to  forgive, 
Though  I  bless  not  the  weary  about  in  my  path — 

Pray  only  for  self  while  I  live — 
Methinks  I  should  mourn  o'er  my  sinful  neglect, 

If  sorrow  in  heaven  can  be, 
Should  no  one  I  love  at  the  beautiful  gate 

Be  waiting  and  watching  for   me  ! 

The  beautiful  hymn  was  sung  by  Mr.  Sankey  in  a  touching 
manner,  and  here  and  there  through  the  vast  congregation, 
could  be  seen  those  whom  its  sentiments  awakened,  and  who 
had  suggested  to  them  the  possibilities  here,  and  the  belief  in 
a  hereafter  so  sweetly,  pathetically  described  in  the  song. 

The  noon  prayer-meetings  grew  in  numbers  and  power,  day 
by  day.  On  Friday  there  were  over  three  thousand  persons  in 
Farwell  Hall  when  the  meeting  commenced.  The  ministers 
present  were,  as  usual,  invited  to  seats  on  the  platform  on  the 
right  and  left  of  the  speaker's  desk.  The  desire  to  hear  Mr. 
Moody  was  everywhere  apparent.  The  main  hall  was  filled 
quite  early,  and  the  congregation  consisted  chiefly  of  those  who 
were  manifestly  Christian  workers. 

The  vast  assemblage  edged  its  way  up  to  the  reporters'  stand 
and  down  the  aisles  and  up  in  the  galleries,  and  in  the  vestibule 
and  through  the  long  corridors,  overflowing  to  the  streets — Madi- 
son at  tlie  front,  and  Arcade  court  in  rear.  Among  those  down 
in  the  congregation,  might  be  seen  the  familiar  face  of  the  fa- 
mous Sojourner  Truth,  whose  countenance  would  almost  light  up 
with  intelligence,  as  the  service  proceeded.  The  aged  woman 
was  an  intent  listener,  and  a  devout  worshiper,  and  when  Mr. 
Moody,  in  his  earnest,  nervous  way,  told  of  the  great  lesson  of 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  535 

humilily  which  all  had  to  learn,  many  a  hearty  "  amen  "  was 
heard  from  the  Sojourner.  ^J'he  spirit  of  the  meeting  was  one 
of  great  devotion.  Except  Mr.  Moody's,  there  were  no  appeals 
to  the  congregation.  The  petitions  offered  were  stronger  per- 
haps than  the  regular  addresses.  They  were  brief,  and  reached 
many.  No  extra  effort,  no  unusual  means,  no  new  ways,  were 
manifest.  The  service  was  effective,  because  of  its  simplicity. 
It  was  strictly  an  hour  of  prayer.  The  occasion  was  felt  as 
being  pivotal — the  turning  point  in  the  revival  meetings.  It 
was  also  an  occasion  of  expectancy.  Not  only  had  Christians 
been  praying  for  a  blessing;  they  waited  for  its  coming.  The 
opening  exercises  are  always  Mr.  Sankey's.  His  sweet  songs 
arc  finely  suggestive,  and  prepare  the  minds  of  the  hearers  for 
the  spoken  words  that  follow.  The  evangehst  without  the 
singer,  would  be  lands  unbroken  to  the  sower,  the  seed  without 
the  soil. 

An  invitation  was  extended  to  all  who  desired  prayers.  The 
service  had  been  of  an  impressive  character,  but  it  was  not  ex- 
pected that  so  large  a  number  of  persons  would  respond. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  the  whole  congregation  arose,  and 
by  this  act  requested  prayers  in  its  behalf.  I'his  is  an  evidence 
that  the  scene  at  the  after-meeting,  the  day  before,  was  not  an 
impulse  of  the  moment  to  be  forgotten  in  an  hour. 

The  fine  weather  brought  out  a  large  congregation  in  the 
evening  to  the  Tabernacle.  The  congregation  was,  however,  to 
be  disappointed.  A  sad  occasion  it  was  to  Mr.  Moody,  whose 
labors  have  been  suddenly  broken  off  at  the  moment  when  the 
revival  seemed  about  to  begin.  At  a  late  hour,  and  but  a  short 
time  before  the  time  of  the  evening  service,  Mr.  Moody  received 
a  telegram  announcing  that  his  youngest  brother  had  died  sud- 
denly. The  news  was  so  unexpected,  that  Mr.  Moody  was 
nearly  prostrated  at  the  startling  intelligence.  At  once  he 
called  the  members  of  the  Devotional  Committee,  and  stated 
the  sad  news  which  had  come  to  iiim.  He  decided  at  the  con- 
ference held  just  before  the  nigiu  service  in  the  Tabernacle,  and 
while  the  congregation  was  gathering  in  the  great  hall,  to  go  at 
once  to  Northfield,  Mass.,  and  be  present  at  the  funeral  of  his 


536  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

brother,  whom  he  left  but  a  few  weeks  since.  The  assemblage 
of  eight  thousand  people  were  not  aware  of  the  change  which 
had  been  made  in  the  leadership  of  the  Tabernacle  services, 
and  were  unprepared  for  the  intelligence  imparted  by  the  Rev. 
A.  E.  Kittredge,  who  read  the  dispatch  which  had  been  received 
from  Mr.  Moody's  home. 

NORTHFIELD,  MaSS,,  Oct-  6,  1876. 

Samuel  is  dead.  E.  Moody. 

A  pastor  said  :  "  The  blow  had  been  of  overwhelming  power 
on  Mr.  Moody,  and  was  also  felt  as  a  great  blow  by  the  pastors 
and  the  Devotional  Committee  who  had  been  cooperating  with 
the  bereaved  brother,  and  that  aged  mother  who  had  been  left 
desolate.  The  pastors  had  had  a  conference  with  Mr.  Moody, 
and  the  contents  of  the  telegram  were  made  known  to  the 
friends  who  were  waiting  to  learn  the  cause  of  the  call.  The 
brother  who  died  had  been,  because  of  an  illness,  as  the  Benjamin 
of  Mr.  Moody's  family.  The  hearts  of  the  pastors  had  clung 
around  Mr.  Moody,  and  they  could  not  say  nay  in  this  call, 
when  Mr.  Moody  said  he  would  like  to  go  home  and  look  once 
more  on  the  silent  face  of  his  brother.  He  said  he  wanted  to 
stand  once  more  beside  his  aged  mother  and  put  his  arm  around 
her,  as  she  was  passing  through  great  trouble  in  this  dark  hour. 
Mr.  Moody  was  now  on  his  way  to  the  depot  to  take  the  train 
which  would  carry  him  to  Northfield.  The  pastors  at  the  con- 
ference with  Mr.  Moody  had  voted  unanimously  to  continue 
these  revival  meetings  during  the  coming  week.  They  had  been 
praying  for  faith,  and  had  been  looking  to  God  in  sincerity. 
This  had  tried  them,  and  yet  they  still  had  faith  in  God.  Major 
Whittle  and  Mr.  Sankey  would  be  at  the  meetings,  the  latter  to 
be  there  all  the  while  during  Mr.  Moody's  absence.  Many 
might  have  come  from  a  distance  to  hear  Mr.  Moody,  and  might 
be  disappointed,  but  the  meetings  would  be  continued  under 
Major  Wliittlc  and  Mr.  Sankey.  He  had  no  doubt  that  many 
hearts  went  out  in  sympathy  for  the  bereavied  brother  and  his 
aged  mother." 

During  the  week  of  the  evangeli.^t's  absence,  the  services 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAno.  337 

were  conducted  as  usual,  and  all  labored  with  increased  zeal 
and  energy,  to  supply  the  great  leader's  place.  Much  good 
was  done,  and  the  returning  preacher  found  that  he  had  only 
to  go  straight  forward  in  the  line  of  Major  Whittle's  successful 
course.  The  Major  was  like  Moody,  a  layman  whose  Christian 
labors  developed  him  into  a  man  of  power  in  the  Master's  serv- 
ice. It  was  a  fine  tribute  to  his  character,  and  ability  in  preach- 
ing, to  be  able  to  carry  forward  with  swelling  force  the  enter- 
prise to  which  his  friend  was  alone  thought  adequate.  It  be- 
came more  and  more  evident  that  God  was  in  the  movement. 

Mr.  Moody  again  in  the  Tabernacle. 

His  first  sermon,  after  he  returns  from  the  grave  of  his 
brother  in  Massachusetts,  contains  characteristic  reminiscences  ; 
and  from  it  we  gather  illustrations  of  the  power  of  prayer  and 
incitements  to  personal  labor  for  souls. 

Twenty-one  years  ago  last  March,  when  God  converted  me, 
I  began  to  cry  to  God  that  six  brothers  and  two  sisters  might 
be  led  home  to  peace.  And  for  twenty-one  years  that  has  been 
my  prayer  :  that  has  been  my  cry  to  God.  A  postman  came 
one  day  and  brought  a  letter  that  told  me  my  youngest  brother 
was  given  up  by  the  physicians  to  die.  On  that  day  I  got 
the  letter  he  was  dying.  I  went  into  the  fifth  story  of  a  build-  ^ 
ing,  and  if  ever  I  prayed  earnestly  in  my  life  I  did  then  that  my 
brother  might  be  spared.  I  wrestled  with  God  in  prayer.  It 
seemed  God  answered  my  prayer.  The  next  letter  said  he 
was  better.  He  had  a  run  of  typhoid  fever  that  lasted  forty- 
two  days.  And  when  he  got  off  that  bed,  I  felt  in  answer  to 
prayer,  the  boy  was  much  dearer  to  me  than  ever  before. 

A  year  ago  I  went  to  preaching  in  that  town.  In  the  last 
month,  my  heart  going  out  to  that  dear  boy,  I  asked  all  those 
present  in  the  church  willing  to  become  Christians  to  rise,  and 
he,  my  long-sought  brother,  rose  for  prayers.  What  a  precious 
relief  for  my  heart  !  He  turned  his  face  toward  Heaven  that 
very  night.  He  became  an  active  Christian.  And  when  they 
soon  after  decided  to  have  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion for  that  town,  the  young  men  wanted  a  president  and  they 


53^  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

elected  him  for  President.  Oh,  that  was  a  blessed  day  for  me, 
when  my  brother,  converted  to  God,  after  twenty-years'  prayer, 
took  charge  of  that  little  band  I  heard  him  make  his  first 
speech,  and  that  seemed  the  happiest  day  of  my  life.  He  was 
a  young  man  of  great  talents,  he  was  the  star  of  the  family,  the 
most  promising  one  of  the  family.  No  one  of  us  could  have 
done  as  much  for  Christ  had  he  gone  to  him  in  his  earliest  man- 
hood. And  he  went  to  work.  He  took  a  leading  part  in  reli- 
gious meetings.  He  went  and  talked  with  weak  brothers  and 
set  them  on  their  feet  again.  He  searched  for  souls  on  both 
sides  of  the  Connecticut  River,  in  both  sides  of  the  valley. 
More  conversions  took  place  after  I  left  than  when  I  was  there. 
Every  Sunday  afternoon  he  would  go  out  into  the  country  and 
take  charge  of  meetings,  and  as  I  used  to  stand  in  the  pulpit, 
and  look  down  on  that  young  brother  in  his  zealous  work,  no 
one  but  God  knows  how  I  loved  him  and  rejoiced  with  great 
joy.  I  thank  God  that  now  his  works  do  follow  him.  The 
young  Christian  men  met  immediately  after  he  died;  a  hundred 
of  them  came  together  to  choose  some  one  to  take  his  place. 
And  how  it  rejoiced  my  heart  that  George  Moody  took  the  place 
of  Samuel,  and  has  set  himself  earnestly  to  the  work.  He  said  : 
*' From  now  I  will  try  to  follow  more  faithfully  after  Christ." 
And  when  we  met  Wednesday  night — it  was  Tuesday  we  laid 
him  away — another  brother  was  harnessed  to  the  work  in  place 
of  the  dear  buried  one.  Oh,  dear  friends,  if  souls  weigh  on  our 
hearts  let  us  go  and  bring  them  to  Jesus.  Let  us  write  to  them 
beseeching  letters  if  our  lips  cannot  reach  them.  Let  us  not 
rest  day  or  night.  Let  us  this  morning  go  out  and  bring  our 
friends  to  Christ.  Let  us  commence  with  our  own  families  ;  let 
us  find  our  brothers.  If  our  brothers  have  yielded  let  us  go  to 
our  friends.  If  they  are  strangers  to  Christ,  oh,  go  bring  them 
now  while  you  may.  Exhort  by  word  of  mouth ;  exhort  by 
fervent  and  repeated  letters.  Begin  at  once  your  mission,  lest 
it  be  too  late  forever,  and  praise  God  for  the  dear  privilege  of 
bringing  others  to  him. 

The   evangelist,  self-poised  and  conscious  of  the  greatness 
of  his  work,  Icavos  there  his  sainted  dead  and  goes  forward  to 


THE   GOSPEL   IN    CHICAGO. 


539 


grapple  with  souls.     In  his  afternoon  sermon  he  tells  a  touch- 
ing story. 

I  heard  of  a  young  man  who  came  to  Chicago  to  sell  his 
father's  grain.  His  father  was  a  minister  somewhere  in  Illi- 
nois. The  boy  arrived  in  Chicago  and  sold  the  grain ;  and 
when  the  time  came  for  him  to  return  home  the  boy  did  not 
come.  The  father  and  mother  were  up  all  night,  expecting  to 
hear  the  sound  of  the  wagon  every  minute,  but  they  waited 
and  waited,  but  still  he  did  not  come.  The  father  became  so 
uneasy  that  he  went  into  the  stable  and  saddled  his  horse  and 
came  to  Chicago.  When  he  reached  here  he  found  that  his 
son  had  sold  the  grain,  but  had  not  been  seen  since  the  sale, 
and  concluded  that  he  was  murdered.  After  making  investiga- 
tion, however,  he  found  that  the  boy  had  gone  into  a  gam- 
bling house  and  lost  all  his  money.  After  they  had  taken  all 
his  money  from  him,  they  told  him  to  sell  his  horse  and  wagon, 
and  he  would  recover  his  money.  He  lost  all.  He  was  like 
the  poor  man  who  came  down  from  Jericho  to  Jerusalem,  and 
who  fell  among  thieves,  and  after  they  had  stripped  him  of 
everything  they  cast  him  off.  A  great  many  of  you  think  as 
this  young  man  thought.  You  think  that  rumsellers  and  gam- 
blers are  your  best  friends,  when  they  will  take  from  you  your 
peace,  your  health,  your  soul,  your  money — everything  you 
have,  and  then  run  away.  Well,  the  father,  after  looking 
about  for  him  fruitlessly,  went  home,  and  told  his  wife  what 
he  had  learned.  But  he  did  not  settle  down,  but  just  took 
liis  carpet-bag  in  his  hand  and  went  from  one  place  to  another, 
getting  ministers  to  let  him  preach  for  them,  and  he  always 
told  the  congregation  that  he  had  a  boy  dearer  to  him  than 
life,  and  left  his  address  with  them,  and  urged  them  if  ever 
they  heard  anything  about  his  boy  to  let  him  know.  At  last, 
after  going  around  a  good  deal,  he  got  on  his  track  and  learned 
that  he  had  gone  to  California.  It  was  during  the  time  of  the 
gold  excitement.  He  went  home,  but  he  did  not  write  a  let- 
ter to  liim.  No,  he  just  arranged  his  business  affairs  and 
started  for  the  Pacific  coast  to  find  his  boy.  This  is  but  an 
illustration  of  what  God  has  been  doing  for  you.     There  has 


540  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

not  been  a  day,  an  hour,  a  moment,  but  God  has  been  search- 
ing for  you.  When  the  father  got  to  San  Francisco  he  got 
permission  to  preach,  and  he  had  a  notice  put  in  the  papers 
in  the  hope  that  it  might  reach  the  mining  districts,  trusting 
that  if  his  son  were  there  it  might  reach  him.  He  preached  a 
.  sermon  on  the  Sunday,  and  when  he  pronounced  the  benedic- 
I  tion  the  audience  went  away.  But  he  saw  in  a  corner  one 
who  remained.  He  went  up  to  him  and  found  that  it  was  his 
boy.  He  did  not  reprimand  him,  and  he  did  not  deliver 
judgment  upon  him,  but  put  his  loving  arms  around  him, 
drew  him  to  his  bosom,  and  took  him  back  to  his  home. 
This  is  an  illustration  of  what  God  wants  to  do  to  us,  what  he 
wants  to  do  to-day.  He  offers  us  his  love,  and  his  forgiveness. 
Mr.  Moody's  method  is  that  of  the  disciples  who  went  out 
to  preach  in  pairs,  and  who  did  such  service  in  the  beginning 
of  their  ministry.  He  read  a  Bible  lesson  at  the  noon  meet- 
ing, on  prayer,  from  Jeremiah,  the  thirty-second  chapter.  The 
thought  of  the  hour  was  the  omnipotence  of  God.  "  There  is 
nothing  too  hard  for  Me."  Mr.  Moody  read  a  number  of 
verses  of  the  context,  and  gave  a  running  commentary  on  the 
chapter  as  he  read,  hinging  his  remarks  on  the  willingness  and 
power  of  the  Almighty  to  do  all  things  for  which  His  people 
prayed.  The  address  was  followed  by  a  fervent  petition  by 
Mr.  Moody,  who  invoked  the  blessing  of  God  on  Chicago,  on 
.a  revival  of  religion  in  the  churches,  and  a  revival  of  honesty 
among  the  business  men  here,  and  asked  for  success  to  follow 
Messrs.  Whittle  and  Bliss,  Needham  and  Stebbins,  and  More 
house  and  Inglis,  in  their  evangelist  work. 

The  recitation  of  his  apt  illustrations,  as  every  one  knows, 
has  made  him  famous,  and  he  could  scarcely  have  been  hap- 
pier in  his  choice  of  parable  than  he  was  in  the  evening. 
Whenever  Mr.  Moody  steps  into  the  dry  theological  or  doc- 
trinal vein  it  aj)pears  always  that  his  hold  upon  his  audience 
relaxes,  but  it  is  pleasing  and  encouraging  to  note  the  expres- 
sion of  earnestness  and  emotion  upon  the  many  faces  before 
him  when  he  expatiates  upon  Christ  Himself  or  describes  the 
scenes  incidental  to  the  miracle-wonders  of  the  Saviour  of  the 


THE    GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  54I 

world,  or  when  he  relates  such  stories  as  that  of  the  ruler's 
daughter,  the  blind  Bartimeus,  or  that  of  the  twc  sisters  whose 
brother  was  dead,  and  one  or  two  ran  to  the  mourner  crying, 
"The  Master  is  come;  He  calleth  thee."  These  are  the 
strongholds  of  the  evangelist,  and  as  he  forgets  himself  in  his 
recitation  of  these  incidents  in  the  life  of  the  Master  which 
appeal  to  all  humanity,  then  it  is  that  Mr.  Moody  is  most  suc- 
cessful. 

Mr.  Moody's  work  as  a  method  was  clearly  brought  out  at 
the  meeting  for  drunkards.  His  plan  while  laboring  in  the 
large  cities  of  the  East  was  to  commence  his  preaching  system- 
atically, laying  good  foundations,  reaching  Christians  first,  and 
non-professors  of  religion  afterward.  In  New  York  and  else- 
where every  Friday  the  special  subject  for  study  and  the  special 
objects  of  prayer  were  intemperance  and  its  victims. 

Temperance 

Enlisted  the  greatest  interest.  Mr.  Moody  takes  but  little 
part  in  the  meetings,  which  are  almost  wholly  in  the  hands  of 
reformed  inebriates.  Every  one  of  the  score  who  have  spoken 
bears  testimony  to  the  one  fact :  "  We  have  but  one  remedy  foi 
the  deadly  evil — salvation  through  Jesus  Christ." 

Whatever  any  one  may  think  of  Mr.  Moody  as  a  preacher,  no 
man  can  deny  that  he  is  a  general.  Seeing  the  front  seats  unoc- 
cupied, he  said  :  "  Will  you  all  please  rise  up  and  come  forward  ? 
I  can  not  think  of  going  on  until  those  chairs  are  filled  up  ;  they 
are  in  the  way ;  they  can't  see  or  hear,  so  fill  them  up ;  sit  close 
up  together  and  the  meeting  will  be  a  hundred  per  cent,  better." 
Looking  up  in  the  gallery  he  said  :  "  Please  come  out  of  the 
gallery  and  get  together,  right  down  here.  You  look  very  lone- 
some up  there."  And  this  was  not  all,  for,  leaving  the  phitform, 
he  walked  to  the  back  seats  transferring  their  occupants  to  the 
front,  and  having  seated  the  gathering — which  had  now  swelled 
to  some  twelve  hundred  persons — to  his  satisf:\ction,  he  returned 
to  the  platform.  The  effect  of  the  cheering  words  and  kindly, 
but  business-like  manipulation  of  the  Evangelist,  upon  the  as- 
semblage, was  simply  marvelous.     People  were  brought  up  to- 


542  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

gether,  and  instead  of  appearing  estranged,  warmed  up  and 
became  congenial  ;  faces  brightened  up,  the  singing  was  much 
more  hearty  than  before,  and  what  had  in  the  beginning  most 
certainly  threatened  to  be  an  exceedingly  drowsy  service  was 
transformed  into  one  of  the  most  successful  and  interesting 
meetings  yet  held. 

A  terribly  suggestive  statement  was  crayoned  on  the  black- 
board which  stood  on  the  platform : 

What  strong  drink  does. 

It  costs  $1,000,000,000  in  money. 

It  makes  50  per  cent,  of  our  insane. 

It  makes  65  per  cent,  of  our  paupers. 

It  causes  directly  75  per  cent,  of  our  murders. 

It  makes  80  per  cent,  of  our  criminals. 

It  sends  forth  95  per  cent,  of  our  vicious  youth. 

It  sends  one  every  six  minutes  into  a  drunkard's  grave,  or 
nearly  100,000  a  year. 

Says  one  : 

There  was  a  little  incident  at  the  Friday  temperance  meeting 
which  struck  me  pleasantly.  Farwell  Hall  with  its  broad  sweep 
of  galleries  was  packed,  the  seats  all  occupied,  and  the  standing 
room  as  full  as  possible,  before  the  services  began.  The  in- 
terest in  these  meetings  is  very  great.  And  yet  Mr.  Moody 
stepped  to  the  front  and  said  there  were  great  numbers  without 
seeking  access  ;  "  and  now,"  said  he,  "  I  want  five  hundred  of 
you  to  leave  your  seats  and  go  down  to  Lower  Farwell  Hull,  and 
thus  make  room  for  some  of  those  without.  Go  down  and  pray 
for  these  poor  inebriates,  and  God  may  give  the  five  hundred  a 
greater  victory  than  the  thousand  who  will  remain."  I  did  not 
expect  to  see  a  person  move.  It  was  a  great  sacrifice  to  leave 
a  meeting  so  full  of  interest.  The  music  was  grand,  the  speakers 
were  electrical  ;  and  yet,  no  sooner  was  the  hymn  struck  up  than 
the  movement  began.  Of  course  woman  took  the  lead.  She 
always  docs  when  personal  sacrifice  is  demanded.  Ladies  left 
their  seats  and  led  the  phalanx,  and  the   lower  hall  was  filled. 


THE    GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  543 

As  the  service  proceeded  in  the  large  hall,  the  voice  of  praise 
came  up  from  below,  the  softest,  sweetest  music  I  ever  heard. 

The  singing  is  remarkable  in  this,  that  no  matter  how  large 
the  congregation,  be  it  four  thousand  or  eight  thousand,  it  is 
perfectly  under  the  control  of  Mr.  Sankey.  At  his  request  the 
chorus  will  roll  up  like  great  waves  of  sea.  Then  he  will  lift 
his  hand  and  say  "Softly,"  when  the  peculiar,  ncolian  melody  of 
thousands  of  soft,  commingled  voices  reminds  one  of  the  music 
of  the  winds  and  the  brooks  on  a  summer  night.  I  judge  that 
this  results  more  from  the  sentiment,  to  which  there  is  always 
instant  response,  than  to  musical  training. 

I  only  meant  to  write  a  few  lines,  and  yet  I  wish  it  were  pos- 
sible to  depict  the  minor  scenes  of  the  revival.  It  is  inexpress- 
ibly touching  to  see  wives  and  children  wistfully  and  eagerly 
bringing  in  drunken  husbands  and  fathers,  and  seeking  the  cure 
of  conversion.  I  noticed  one  woman  on  the  street,  in  front  of 
the  hall,  gazing  around  for  her  inebriate  husband,  who  had 
promised  to  come.  The  anxiety,  grief,  hope,  marks  of  pain  and 
care  on  that  face,  are  not  to  be  forgotten.  Her  face  lit  up  glad- 
Jy,  and  I  knew  that  she  had  discerned  him  in  the  throng.  On 
he  came,  but  she  could  not  wait — rushed  to  meet  him  with  words 
of  love  and  cheer  and  hope.  I  was  so  much  interested  as  to 
the  result,  that  I  followed  it  up,  and  was  rejoiced  to  know  that 
her  husband  was  saved.  One  more  happy  home,  joyful  wife 
and  children,  and  one  more  slave  of  sin  and  death  set  free  ! 

The  witnesses,  coming  in  and  not  knowing  the  testimony  of 
those  that  preceded  them,  tell  the  same  story — "  I  signed 
pledges,  I  resolved,  promised,  vowed,  that  I  would  reform.  My 
mother,  sister,  wife,  children,  tried  to  save  me.  I  tried  to  save 
myself — all  in  vain.     I  went  to  Jesus  and  He  saved  me." 

Among  the  reclaimed  men  who  took  part  in  the  exercises, 
was  Mr  Latimer,  a  man  of  uncommon  intelligence,  whose  story 
moved  the  audience  most  profoundly. 

He  confessed  that  it  was  difficult  to  speak  about  past  expe- 
riences, especially  when  a  man  had  been  a  heavy  drinker,  as  he 
had  been  for  sixteen  years.  He  began  sixteen  years  ago  by 
taking  his  first  bottle  of  ale  in  the  back-room  of  a  country  store, 


i;44  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

and  then  entering  the  army,  he  had  phinged  into  dissipation, 
from  which  he  thought  at  first  he  could  free  himself,  but,  as  the 
years  went  by,  he  found  the' habit  had  become  so  strong  that  he 
could  not  control  it,  for  it  controlled  him.  He  had  stood  at  the 
mouth  of  the  cannon,  in  front  of  the  fixed  bayonet,  with  the 
muzzle  of  a  pistol  right  before  him,  and  yet  never  had  felt  there 
such  a  heart-sinking  as  when  he  began  to  realize  what  a  man  is, 
fettered  by  that  vice.  He  came  to  this  city  some  little  time 
ago,  and  spent  most  of  his  days  and  nights  in  drunkenness  and 
playing  cards,  sometimes  taking  thirty  or  forty  drinks  a  day. 
While  in  this  condition  he  came,  one  night,  to  the  Tabernacle 
out  of  curiosity,  to  hear  what  was  being  said,  and  to  see  what 
was  being  done.  He  sat  in  the  gallery  and  was  shielded  by  one 
of  the  long  pillars  that  supported  the  roof.  He  saw  the  crowds 
enter  with  happy  faces  and  apparently  light  hearts,  and  nice 
clothes,  and  it  hardened  his  heart,  for  he  felt  that  he  could 
never  be  like  them.  Then  he  heard  Mr.  Sankey  sing  the  hymn, 
"What  Shall  the  Harvest  be?"  It  struck  him  when  he  heard 
the  first  verse : 

"  Sowing  the  seed  by  the  daylight  fair, 
Sowing  the  seed  by  the  noonday  glare, 
Sowing  the  seed  by  the  fading  light, 
Sowing  the  seed  in  the  solemn  night, 

Oh,  what  shall  the  harvest  be? 

Oh,  what  shall  the  harvest  be  ?  " 

And  then,  said  Mr.  Latimer,  Mr.  Sankey  sung  the  third  verse, 
a  verse  that  entered  my  heart.  It  aroused  me  from  my  stupor. 
It  brought  me  to  feel  what  my  own  condition  was,  and  these 
words  entered  my  soul : 

"  Sowing  the  seed  of  a  lingering  pain, 
Sowing  the  seed  of  a  maddened  brain, 
Sowing  the  seed  of  a  tarnished  name, 
Sowing  the  seed  of  eternal  shame. 

Oh,  what  shall  the  harvest  be? 

Oh,  what  shall  tiie  harvest  be  ? " 

During  the  recital  of  these  lines  the  speaker's  voice  trembled, 


THE    GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  54  5 

his  whole  frame  was  agitated,  his  words  and  manner  were 
impressed  on  his  auditors,  many  of  whom  were  moved  to  tears, 
and  sobbing  was  audible  in  many  parts  of  the  ^reat  hall.  He 
then  went  on  to  say  that  that  night  he  had  listened  to  this 
hymn,  describing  his  own  experience,  he  found  no  rest ;  the 
words  seemed  to  meet  him  wherever  he  went,  "  What  shall  the 
harvest  be  ? "  They  were  written  on  the  walls  of  the  hotel 
where  he  boarded.  They  haunted  him  wherever  he  went.  He 
tried  to  drown  the  words  by  drinking  heavier,  but  he  couldn't 
remove  them.  There  they  were  wherever  he  turned,  "What 
shall  the  harvest  be.?"  He  left  the  Tabernacle  saying  to  him- 
self he  would  never  return;  but  finally,  such  was  his  unrest,  he 
went  into  the  inquiry-room,  and  talked  with  Mr.  Farwell  and 
Mr.  Brewster,  and  after  a  great  struggle  he  gave  himself  to 
Christ.  He  trusted  in  the  salvation  wrought  out  for  him,  and 
though  he  had  lost.position,  home,  family,  by  the  accursed  cup, 
he  rejoiced  that  God  had  looked  down  on  him  and  saved  him. 

Mr.  Sawyer  is  another  wonderful  instance  of  the  power  of 
Divine  grace.  "  Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire?  " 
Mr.  Sawyer  felt  that  he  could  celebrate  his  birthday  in  no  better 
way  than  in  helping  to  make  it  a  happy  day  for  those  with  whom 
he  sympathized  so  deeply,  since  not  four  years  ago,  he  was  in 
the  same  slough  of  despond,  and  going  down  to  a  drunkard's 
grave.  He  was  formerly  in  the  employ  of  Claflin  &  Co.,  in 
New  York,  and  through  drink  lost  his  situation.  Four  years 
since  he  was  converted,  and  came  to  Chicago  to  help  Mr. 
Moody  "  rescue  the  perishing." 

A  company  of  noble  women  seconded  his  proposed  plan  for 
a  Thanksgiving  dinner,  went  to  work,  and  spread  the  tables 
with  a  sumptuous  feast,  arranging  seats  for  two  hundred  and 
fifty  of  these  reformed  men.  It  was  a  touching  sight  to  see 
them  coming  in  and  taking  their  places  at  the  tables,  many  of 
them  looking  as  though  it  had  been  a  long  time  since  they  had 
seen  such  a  dinner.  Some  of  them  were  fine-looking  men, 
many  of  them  under  thirty  years  of  age,  but  others  bore  the 
marks  of  long  and  low  dissipation.  In  looking  at  them,  one 
was  prompted  to  exclaim,  "  What  but  the  grace  of  God  could 


54^  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

save  such  men  from  their  sins?  "     Surely,  "  He  ca?i  save  to  the 
uttermost  all  them  that  call  upon  Him  !  " 

How  they  enjoy  the  dinner ;  and  when  it  was  over  how  good 
it  was  to  hear  one  and  another  testify  of  the  love  of  Christ,  con- 
trast their  present  state  with  that  of  a  year,  two,  three,  ten,  yes 
fifteen  years  ago,  which  had  been  spent  in  drunkenness  and  de- 
bauchery !  Mr.  Moody  made  a  few  remarks  after  the  dinner, 
impressing  upon  them  all  the  fact  that  Christ,  and  Christ 
alone  could  save  them,  and  keep  them  from  temptation  ;  then 
invited  all  of  them  most  cordially  to  come  at  any  time  to  his 
church,  to  the  vestry,  to  the  reading-room  (which  was  always 
open)  and  to  all  the  meetings  there.  Then  Billy  Murray  (who 
is  well  know  to  all  Chicagoans  as  one  who  for  twenty  years  has 
been  a  notorious  drunkard,  although  occupying  a  position  of 
some  respectability,  but  who  was  converted  two  months  ago, 
and  has  been  working  for  others  ever  since),  spoke  most  feel- 
ingly of  what  Christ  had  done  for  him,  and  said  :  "  He  has  not 
only  made  me  his  own  and  redeemed  me,  but  I  thank  him  that 
he  has  taken  from  me  even  the  desire  for  strong  drinks,  which 
seems  like  a  miracle  to  me.  I  can  go  into  saloons  now  and  talk 
with  the  men,  urging  them  to  Christ,  and  the  fumes  of  the  liquor 
all  about  me  do  not  affect  me  at  all."  Quite  a  number  spoke, 
many  giving  similar  testimony  and  among  them  Col.  Latimer, 
the  circumstances  of  whose  conversion  a  few  weeks  since  we 
speak  of  above. 

It  is  a  notable  fact,  to  which  many  of  these  men  testify,  that 
after  their  conversion,  and  the  sudden  ceasing  from  the  use  of 
all  intoxicating  drinks,  when  they  expected  as  a  matter  of  course 
an  attack  of  "delirium  tremens,"  they  escaped  entirely,  and 
some  even  said  that  the  gnawing  feeling  which  they  had  for 
years  been  conscious  of,  when  not  under  the  influence  of  liquor, 
was  no  longer  felt.  What  work  can  be  more  Christ-like  than 
trying  to  turn  the  steps  of  these  erring,  sinking,  despairing 
souls  from  the  sorrowful  road  to  destruction,  toward  light,  and 
joy,  and  a  heavenly  home. 

Says  one  :  I  have  felt  that  the  position  taken  in  regard  to 
the  absolute  cure  of  the  appetite  by  conversion  was  carried  to  a 


THE   GOSPEL    IN   CHICAGO.  547 

dangerous  limit.  My  theory  has  been  that  God  leaves  us  to 
the  force  of  temptation  arising  out  of  bad  habits,  but  gives  suf- 
ficient strength  to  resist  it.  I  did  once  know  a  man  wlio  was 
lifted  from  the  gutter,  where  he  had  wallowed  for  ten  years, 
and  his  thirst  for  alcohol  cured  at  once  by  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
but  it  seemed  to  me  an  exception,  which  God  had  made  in  view 
of  the  weakness  of  the  will  of,  and  the  power  of  the  appetite  over, 
his  child.  And  I  have  thought  that  these  converted  drunkards 
might,  when  the  craving  returned,  take  it  as  an  evidence  that 
they  were  deceived,  and  so  evil  come  of  it.  But  what  is- one 
to  say  when,  one  after  another,  scores  of  regenerated  drunkards 
get  up  and  tell  us  that  the  appetite  is  entirely  gone.  "  I  can 
go  past  a  saloon  as  easily  now  as  I  could  go  into  one  ten  days 
ago,"  said  one  of  them  to-day.  .These  men  are  not  lying.  They 
are  the  happiest  mortals  I  ever  saw.  Criminals  pardoned  at 
the  foot  of  the  gallows  could  not  be  more  rejoiced.  There  is  no 
getting  over  their  testimony.  They  know  what  hell  is.  No 
need  of  telling  them  about  its  horrors.  They  have  been  there. 
You  may  imagine  the  effect  of  their  testimony.  It  seems  to«me 
it  would  almost  draw  tears  from  a  statue  of  stone.  I  saw  a 
poor  wife  to-day  trying  to  keep  her  drunken  husband  quiet  in 
the  meeting,  but  he  sprang  up,  hurled  curses  at  Moody,  and 
staggered  out  of  the  Tabernacle.  The  poor  woman  bowed  her 
head  and  shook  in  an  agony  of  grief  O,  what  a  limitless  curse 
is  strong  drink ! 

About  five  hundred  drinking  men  went  into  the  inquiry-rooms 
to  seek  salvation.  *'  How  many  of  you  wish  relief  from  intem- 
perance ?  "  asked  Mr.  Sawyer,  himself  a  saved  inebriate.  Nearly 
every  hand  in  the  room  went  up.  All  want  cure.  All  who 
went  in  to  labor  and  pray  with  them  were  regenerated  inebriates. 
And  such  an  inquiry  meeting  !  They  were  not  more,  or  as  much, 
seeking  to  flee  from  wrath  to  come  as  from  wrath  already  hurtl- 
ing them  up.  They  all,  it  seems,  took  special  care  to  observe  a 
day  of  thanksgiving  for  their  individual  deliverance.  Those  that 
had  families  gathered  them  around  them.  None  of  them  lacked 
a  good  turkey  and  other  good  things  wherewith  to  rejoice — thanks 
to  the  sensible  and  thoughtful  friends  of  temperance.     With 


548  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

one  accord  they  said  that  it  was  the  happiest  day  of  their 
lives.  I  cannot  convey  an  idea  of  the  type  of  joy  exhibited.  It 
was  not  hilarity.  It  is  a  kind  of  joy  that  does  not  spring  up 
from  the  exuberant  forces  of  the  body  or  of  the  mind.  It  is  se- 
rious, calm,  profound.  Bless  God,  the  era  of  miracles  has  not 
passed  away.  These  men  are  as  much — nay,  much  mere — evi- 
dences of  the  direct  interposition  of  Almighty  God  than  the 
healing  of  a  withered  arm — by  as  much  as  both  soul  and 
body  are  more  than  a  single  limb  of  the  body. 

The    Evangelist's  Tenderness  and  Fidelity. 

I  was  in  an  infirmary  not  long  since,  and  a  mother  brought  a 
little  child  in.  She  said,  "  Doctor  my  little  child's  eyes  have  not 
been  opened  for  several  days,  and  I  would  just  like  you  to 
do  something  for  them."  The  doctor  got  some  ointment  and 
put  it  first  on  one  and  then  on  the  other,  and  just  puljed  them 
open.  "  Your  child  is  blind,"  said  the  doctor  ;  "  perfectly  blind  ; 
it  will  never  see  again."  At  first  the  mother  couldn't  take  it  in, 
but^after  a  little  she  said,  "  Doctor,  you  don't  mean  to  say  that 
my  child  will  never  see  again?"  "Yes,"  replied  the  doc- 
tor, "your  child  has  lost  its  sight  and  it  will  never  see 
again."  And  that  mother  just  gave  a  scream,  and  drew 
that  child  to  her  bosom.  "  Oh,  my  darling  child,"  sobbed  the 
woman,  "  are  you  never  to  see  the  mother  that  gave  you  birth  ? 
never  to  see  the  world  again  ?  "  I  could  not  keep  back  the  tears 
when  I  saw  the  terrible  agony  of  that  woman  when  she  realized 
the  misfortune  that  had  come  upon  her  child.  That  was  a  ter- 
rible calamity,  but  what  was  it  in  comparison  to  the  loss  of  a 
soul.  I  would  rather  have  my  eyes  plucked  out  of  my  head  and 
go  down  to  my  grave  in  total  blindness  than  lose  my  soul. 

In  my  native  town  one  afternoon  a  man  went  out  to  see  his 
stock.  Seven  o'clock  came  and  he  did  not  return  ;  eight  o'clock 
came  and  there  was  no  sign  of  him  ;  nine  o'clock  came  and  still 
he  did  not  come.  It  was  a  dark  night  and  the  news  spread 
through  the  streets  that  the  deacon  must  have  been  killed. 
When  the  news  was  flashed  around  they  did  not  fold  their  arms 
and  say  they  would  wait  till  daylight  and  start  out  and  seek  for 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  549 

him  ;  but  the  old  and  the  young  men  saddled  their  horses  in- 
stantly and  lighted  their  torches  and  went  forth  into  the  dark- 
ness to  find  the  lost  one.  They  found  him  in  the  pasture,  killed, 
and  brought  him  into  the  little  village,  and  I  never  saw  a  com- 
munity so  excited  and  so  grieved.  But  what  was  that — the 
cutting  from  a  man's  life  of  say  twenty  years,  to  the  loss  of  a  soul. 
A  drunkard  may  go  on  through  life  in  his  mad  career  and  go 
down  to  the  grave  and  no  one  will  weep  for  him.  He  came  to 
save  that  soul ;  He  stooped  from  the  throne  of  glory  to  the 
manger  to  bring  the  lost  soul  back  again.  Oh  that  you  could 
realize  what  a  lost  soul  is.  He  wants  you  to  take  the  tide  of  lost 
sinner.  That's  what  he  wants  you  to  do.  '*  He  came  to  seek 
and  to  save  that  which  was  lost ;"  and  if  a  man  will  only  know 
he  is  a  sinner  and  cry  from  the  depths  of  his  heart,  the  Lord 
will  come  right  to  where  you  are. 

I  remember  preaching  one  night  in  winter — one  of  the  cold- 
est winters  we  had — the  winter  after  the  Chicago  fire.  I  had 
been  studying  up  grace,  and  it  was  the  first  time  I  had  spoken 
of  it,  and  I  was  just  full  of  it.  I  started  out  of  the  house,  I 
remember,  and  the  first  man  I  met  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  any 
thing  about  the  grace  of  God,  and  I  tried  to  preach  to  him. 
This  man  thought  I  was  crazy.  I  ran  on  and  met  another,  and 
finally  got  up  to  the  meeting.  That  night  1  thought  perhaps  I 
was  speaking  to  a  lot  of  people  who  felt  as  I  did  about  grace, 
and  when  I  got  through  1  asked  any  one  who  would  like  to  hear 
about  grace — who  had  any  interest  in  it,  to  stay.  I  expected 
some  would  have  stayed,  but  what  was  my  mortification  to  see 
the  whole  audience  rise  up  and  go  away.  They  hadn't  any  inter- 
est in  grace;  they  didn't  want  to  learn  anything  about  grace. 
I  put  my  coat  and  hat  on,  and  was  going  out  of  the  hall,  when  I 
saw  a  poor  fellow  at  the  back  of  the  furnace  crying.  "  I  want 
to  hear  about  the  grace  of  God,"  said  he.  "  YouVe  the  very 
man  I  want,  then,"  said  I.  "  Yes,"  the  poor  fellow  said,  "  you 
said  in  your  sermon  that  it  was  free,  and  I  want  you  to  tell  me 
something  about  it."  Well,  I  got  talking  to  him,  and  he  told 
me  a  pitiful  story.  He  had  drank  away  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars,  his  home  had  been   broken  up,  and   his  wife   and  chil- 


55©  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

dren  had  left  him.  I  spoke  to  him,  and  it  was  not  long  befoie 
we  were  down  together  praying.  That  night  I  got  him  a  night's 
lodging  in  the  Bethel,  and  next  day  we  got  him  on  his  feet,  and 
when  I  went  to  Europe,  he  was  one  of  the  most  earnest  workers 
we  had.  He  was  just  a  partaker  of  grace — believed  that  the 
peace  of  God  was  sufficient  for  him,  and  he  took  God  at  His 
word  and  he  was  a  saved  man.  I  hope  some  poor  wanderer  will 
come  here  to-night,  and  will  see  the  force  of  this  lesson.  It 
may  be  that  your  home  has  been  all  broken  up,  that  your  wife 
has  cast  you  off,  that  your  friends  have  forsaken  you.  God  will 
take  you  and  bless  you  if  you  will  but  repent.  He  can  do  great 
things  ;  he  can  raise  you  from  darkness  to  light,  from  lowness 
to  highness,  and  He  will  go  to  the  corners  of  the  world  for  a 
man  if  he  has  sunk  into  the  pit,  and  will  raise  him  up.  He 
brought  me  out  of  the  pit  and  set  me  up.  It  was  His  grace — • 
His  grace  that  did  it. 

Mr.  Warner,  superintendent  of  probably  one  of  the  largest 
Sunday  schools  in  the  world,  had  a  theory  that  he  would  never 
put  a  boy  out  of  his  school  for  bad  conduct.  He  argued  if  a 
boy  misbehaved  himself,  it  was  through  bad  training  at  home, 
and  that  if  he  put  him  out  of  the  school,  no  one  would  take  care 
of  him.  Well,  this  theory  was  put  to  the  test  one  day.  A 
teacher  came  to  him  and  said,  "  I've  got  a  boy  in  my  class  that 
must  be  taken  out ;  he  breaks  the  rules  continually,  he  swears 
and  uses  obscene  language,  and  I  cannot  do  anything  with  him.'* 
Mr.  Warner  did  not  care  about  putting  the  boy  out,  so  he  sent 
the  teacher  back  to  his  class.  But  he  came  again,  and  said 
that  unless  the  boy  was  taken  from  his  class,  he  must  leave  it. 
Well,  he  left,  and  a  second  teacher  was  appointed.  The  second 
teacher  came  with  the  same  story,  and  met  with  the  same  reply 
from  Mr.  Warner.  And  he  resigned.  A  third  teacher  was 
appointed,  and  he  came  with  the  same  story  as  the  others. 
Mr.  Warner  then  thought  he  would  be  compelled  to  turn  the 
boy  out  at  last.  One  day  a  few  teachers  were  standing  about, 
and  Mr.  Warner  said :  "  I  will  bring  this  boy  up,  and  read  his 
name  out  in  the  school,  and  publicly  excommunicate  him." 
Well,  a  young  lady  came  and  said  to  him :  "  I  am  not  doing 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  55I 

what  I  might  for  Christ,  let  mc  have  tlie  boy  ;  I  will  try  and 
save  him."  But  Mr.  Warner  said  :  "  If  these  young  men  can- 
not do  it,  you  will  not."  But  she  begged  to  have  him,  and  Mr. 
Warner  consented.  She  was  a  wealthy  young  lady,  surrounded 
with  all  the  luxuries  of  life.  The  boy  went  to  her  class,  and  for 
several  Sundays  he  behaved  himself  and  broke  no  rules.  But 
one  Sunday  he  broke  loose,  and,  in  reply  to  something  she  said, 
spat  in  her  face.  She  took  out  her  pocket-handkerchief  and 
wiped  her  face,  but  she  said  nothing.  Well,  she  thought 
upon  a  plan,  and  she  said  to  him,  "John,''  we  will  call  him 
John,  "  John,  come  home  with  me."  "  No/'  said  he,  "  I  won't ; 
I  won't  be  seen  on  the  streets  with  you."  She  was  fearful  of 
losing  him  altogether  if  he  went  out  of  the  school  that  day,  and 
she  said  to  him,  *'  Will  you  let  me  walk  home  with  you  ?"  "  No, 
I  won't,"  said  he,  "  I  won't  be  seen  on  the  street  with  you." 
Then  she  thought  upon  another  plan.  She  thought  on  the  "  Old 
Curiosity  Shop,"  and  she  said,  "  I  won't  be  at  home  to-morrow 
or  Tuesday,  but  if  you  will  come  round  to  the  front  door  on 
Wednesday  morning,  there  will  be  a  little  bundle  for  you."  "  I 
don't  want  it ;  you  may  keep  your  old  bundle."  She  went 
home,  but  made  the  bundle  up.  She  thought  that  curiosity 
might  make  him  come, 

Wednesday  morning  arrived  and  he  had  got  over  his  mad 
fit,  and  he  thought  he  would  just  like  to  see  what  was  in  this 
bundle.  The  little  fellow  knocked  at  the  door,  which  was 
opened,  and  he  told  his  story.  She  said :  "  Yes,  here  is  the 
bundle."  The  boy  opened  it  and  found  a  vest  and  a  coat  and 
other  clothing,  and  a  little  note  written  by  the  young  lady, 
which  read  something  like  this : 

"  Dear  Johnnie  :  Ever  since  you  have  been  in  my  class  I 
have  prayed  for  you  every  morning  and  evening,  that  you 
might  be  a  good  boy,  and  I  want  you  to  stop  in  my  class.  Do 
not  leave  me." 

The  next  morning,  before  she  was  up,  the  servant  came  to 
her  and  said  there  was  a  little  boy  below  who  wished  to  see 
her.  She  dressed  hastily,  and  went  down  stairs,  and  found 
Johnnie  on  the  sofa,  weeping.     She  put  her  arms  around  his 


552  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

neck,  and  he  said  to  her,  "  My  dear  teacher,  I  have  not  had  any 
peace  since  I  got  this  note  from  you.  I  want  you  to  forgive 
me."  "Won't  you  let  me  pray  for  you  to  come  to  Jesus .5*  " 
And  she  went  down  on  her  knees  and  prayed.  And  now  Mr. 
Warner  said  that  boy  was  the  best  boy  in  the  Sunday-school. 

And  so  it  was  love  that  broke  that  boy's  heart.  May  the 
Lord  give  us  that  love  in  abundance  !  May  we  be  so  full  of 
love  that  every  one  may  see  that  it  only  prompts  us  to  bring 
them  to  heaven. 

I  remember  going  into  a  young  converts'  meeting  in  Phil- 
adelphia, where  I  heard  a  story  that  thrilled  my  soul.  A 
young  man  said  he  had  been  a  great  drunkard.  He  had  lost 
one  situation  after  another,  till  finally  he  qame  to  the  very 
dregs.  He  left  Philadelphia,  and  went  first  to  Washington, 
and  then  to  Baltimore.  One  night  he  came  back  to  Philadel- 
phia. He  had  lost  his  key  and  could  not  get  into  his  home. 
He  was  afraid  to  go  into  the  house  while  the  people  were  stir- 
ring, so  he  staid  outside  watching  till  all  had  retired.  He 
knew  that  after  that  there  would  be  at  least  one  who  would 
hear  him  and  come  to  the  door.  He  went,  he  knocked ; 
when  he  heard  the  footsteps  of  his  mother.  "O  Edward," 
said  she,  "  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you."  She  did  not  reprove 
him ;  did  not  rebuke  him.  He  went  up  stairs  and  did  not 
come  down  for  two  days.  When  he  came  to,  the  servants 
were  walking  about  the  house  very  softly,  everything  was 
quiet.  They  told  him  that  his  mother  was  at  the  point  of 
death.  His  brother  was  a  physician,  and  he  went  to  him  and 
asked  him  if  it  was  so.  "Yes,  Ned,"  said  he,  "mother  can- 
not live."  He  immediately  went  up  stairs,  and  asked  his 
mother's  forgiveness,  and  prayed  to  his  mother's  God  to  have 
mercy  upon  him.  "And  God,"  said  he,  "my  mother's  God, 
heard  my  jjrayers,"  and  the  tears  trickled  down  his  face,  and 
he  said  :  "  God  has  kept  me  straight  these  four  years  in  the  face 
of  all  trials."  Oh,  sinner,  ask  for  His  grace  and  might;  do 
not  turn  Him  away.     Oh,  to-night  let  Him  save  you. 

1  remember  wliilc  in  Philadelphia  a  man  with  his  wife  came 
to  our  meetings.     When  he  went  out  he  wouldn't  «peak  to  his 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  553 

wife.  She  thought  it  was  very  queer,  but  said  nothing,  and 
went  to  bed  thinking  that  in  the  morning  he  would  be  all 
right  At  breakfast,  however,  he  would  not  speak  a  word. 
Well,  she  thought  this  strange,  but  she  was  sure  he  would  have 
got  all  over  whatever  was  wrong  with  him  by  dinner.  The 
dinner  hour  arfived,  and  it  passed  away  without  his  saying  a 
word.  At  supper  not  a  word  escaped  him,  and  he  would  not 
go  with  her  to  the  meeting.  Every  day  for  a  whole  week  the 
same  thing  went  on.  But  at  the  end  of  the  week  he  could  not 
stand  it  any  longer,  and  he  said  to  his  wife:  "Why  did  you 
go  and  write  to  Mr.  Moody  and  tell  him  all  about  me."  "  I 
never  wrote  to  Mr.  Moody  in  my  life,"  said  the  wife.  "You 
did,"  he  answered.  "  You're  mistaken  ;  why  do  you  think 
that.?"  "Well,  then,  I  wronged  you,  but  when  I  saw  Mr. 
Moody  picking  me  out  among  all  those  people,  and  telling  all 
about  me,  I  was  sure  you  must  have  written  to  him."  It  was 
the  Son  of  Man  seeking  for  him,  my  friends,  and  I  hope  there 
will  be  a  man  here  to  night — that  man  in  the  gallery  yonder, 
that  one  before  me — who  will  feel  that  I  am  talking  personally 
to  him.  May  you  feel  that  you  are  lost,  and  that  the  Lord  is 
seeking  for  you,  and  when  you  feel  this  there  will  be  some 
chance  of  your  being  saved. 

I  want  to  tell  you  a  lesson  taught  me  in  Chicago  a  few  years 
ago.  In  the  months  of  August  and  July  a  great  many  deaths 
occurred  among  children,  you  all  know.  I  remember  I  attended 
a  great  many  funerals,  sometimes  I  would  go  to  two  or  three 
funerals  a  day.  I  got  so  used  to  it  that  it  did  not  trouble  me  to 
see  a  mother  take  the  last  kiss,  and  see  the  coffin-lid  closed.  I  got 
accustomed  to  it,  as  in  the  war  we  got  accustomed  to  the  great 
battles,  and  to  see  the  wounded  and  dead  never  troubled  us. 
When  I  gJt  home  one  night  I  heard  that  one  of  my  Sunday- 
school  pupils  was  dead,  and  her  mother  wanted  me  to  come  to 
the  house.  I  went  to  the  poor  home,  and  saw  the  father  drunk. 
Adelaide  had  been  brought  from  the  river.  The  mother  told 
me  she  washed  for  a  living,  the  father  earned  no  money,  and 
poor  Adelaide's  work  was  to  get  wood  for  the  fire.  She  had 
gone  to  the  river  that  day  and  seen  a  piece  floating  on  the  w.i- 
24 


554  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

ter,  had  stretched  out  for  it,  had  lost  her  balance  and  fal.en  in. 
The  poor  woman  was  very  much  distressed.  "  1  would  like  you 
to  help  me,  Mr.  Moody,"  she  said,  "  to  bury  my  child.  I  have 
no  lot.     I  have  no  money." 

Well,  I  took  the  measure  for  the  coffin  and  came  away.  I  had 
my  little  girl  with  me,  and  she  said  :  ^'  Papa,  jfuppose  we  were 
very,  very  poor,  and  mamma  had  to  work  for  a  living,  and  I  had 
to  get  sticks  for  the  fire,  and  was  to  fall  into  the  river,  would  you 
be  very  sorry?  "  This  question  reached  my  heart.  "Why  my 
child,  it  would  break  my  heart  to  lose  you,"  I  said,  and  I  drew 
her  to  my  bosmn.  "Papa,  do  you  feel  bad  for  that  mother?  " 
she  said  ;  and  this  word  woke  my  sympathy  for  the  woman,  and 
I  started  and  went  back  to  the  house,  and  prayed  that  the  Lord 
might  bind  up  that  wounded  heart.  When  the  day  came  for  the 
funeral  I  went  to  Graceland.  I  had  always  thought  my  time 
too  precious  to  go  out  there,  but  I  went.  The  drunken  father 
was  there  and  the  poor  mother.  I  bought  a  lot,  the  grave  was 
dug,  and  the  child  laid  away  among  strangers.  There  was  an- 
other funeral  coming  up,  and  the  corpse  was  laid  near  the  grave 
of  little  Adelaide.  And  I  thought  how  I  would  feel  if  it  had 
been  my  little  girl  that  I  had  been  laying  there  among  strangers. 
I  went  to  my  Sabbath  school  thinking  this,  and  suggested  thai 
the  children  should  contribute  and  buy  a  lot  in  which  we  might 
bury  a  hundred  poor  little  children.  We  soon  got  it  and  the 
papers  had  scarcely  been  made  out  when  a  lady  came  and  said, 
"Mr.  Moody,  my  little  girl  died  this  morning,  let  me  bury  her 
in  the  lot  you  have  got  for  the  Sunday  school  children  ? "  The 
request  was  granted  and  she  asked  me  to  go  to  the  lot  and  say 
prayers  over  her  child.  I  went  to  the  grave — it  was  a  beautiful 
day  in  June,  and  I  remember  asking  her  what  the  name  of  her 
child  was.  She  said  Emma.  That  was  the  name  of  my  little 
girl,  and  I  thought  what  if  it  had  been  my  own  child?  We 
should  put  ourselves  in  the  places  of  others.  I  could  not  help 
shedding  a  tear.  Another  woman  came  shortly  after  and 
wanted  to  put  another  one  inlo  the  grave.  I  asked  his  name. 
It  was  Willie,  and  it  happened  to  be  the  name  of  my  little  boy — 
the  first  two  laid  there  were  called  by  the  same  names  as  my 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  555 

two  childrei),  and  I  felt  sympathy  and  compassion  foi  those  two 
women. 

If  you  want  to  get  into  sympathy,  put  yourself  into  a  man's 
place.  Chicago  needs  Christians  whose  hearts  are  full  of  com- 
passion and  sympathy.  If  we  haven't  got  it,  pray  that  we  may 
have  it,  so  that  we  may  be  able  to  reach  those  men  and  women 
that  need  kindly  words  and  kindly  actions  far  more  than  ser- 
mons. The  mistake  is  that  we  have  been  preaching  too  much, 
and  sympathizing  too  little.  The  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a 
gospel  of  deeds  and  not  of  words.  May  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
come  upon  us  this  night.  May  we  remember  that  Christ  was 
moved  in  compassion  for  us,  and  may  we,  if  we  find  some  poor 
man  going  down  among  thieves,  or  lying  wounded  and  bleeding, 
look  upon  him  with  sympathy,  and  get  below  him  and  raise 
him  up. 

Mr.  Sankey's  Address. 

Mr.  Sankey,  after  reading  a  few  verses  from  the  145th  Psalm, 
delivered  the  following  address  :  I  would  like  to  give  you  here 
to-night  one  of  my  reasons  for  thanksgiving,  which  fills  my  heart 
with  praise,  and  that  is  the  glorious  unanimity  among  all  Chris- 
tian hearts  to-day  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  It  is  a  theme  for 
praise  and  earnest  thanksgiving,  not  only  among  us  but  among 
the  people  of  the  entire  Northwest,  and  even  of  the  country. 
Christians  are  working  heart  to  heart  and  hand  to  hand,  and 
wherever  there  is  union  there  is  strength  and  blessing,  and  the 
grand  results  of  this  union  are  witnessed  in  the  inquiry  room 
nio:ht  after  ni2:ht.  I  remember  when  we  were  far  across  the  sea 
how  Mr.  Moody  and  I  thought  of  the  dear  ones  at  home  with  whom 
we  had  labored,  and  I  recollect,  when  we  saw  the  results  of  the 
glorious  work  around  us,  how  we  used  to  pray  that  we  would  be 
spared  to  return  and  witness  such  scenes  in  Chicago.  And  to 
see  what  has  been  done  during  the  past  four  weeks,  wliat  a 
source  of  thanksgiving  we  have — how  God  has  prepared  the 
v.ay  for  us  and  led  us  here  in  His  own  good  time.  What  I  have 
to  thank  God  especially  for  is  the  wonderful  power  He  has  man- 
ifested in  the  power  of  song.     I  remember  about  U\c  years  ago, 


556  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

of  coming  to  yonder  depot  one  morning  early.  It  was  my  first 
visit  to  this  great  city,  and  I  knew  none  here  save  one  man.  I 
went  along  Madison  street,  up  State  street,  to  the  North  Side, 
and  met  my  dear  brother  Moody.  I  had  met  him  one  year  be- 
fore in  a  distant  State,  while  he  was  engaged  in  the  work  of  the 
Master.  As  I  went  along  those  streets  I  recollect  how  I 
wondered  if  God  had  a  work  here  for  me  in  my  coming  to 
this  city,  or  whether  I  had  come  on  my  own  volition,  and  how, 
while  thinking  in  this  way,  I  sent  up  a  prayer  to  God  to  bless 
mc  in  the  service  in  which  I  was  about  to  engage.  With  thank 
fulness  I  remember  the  very  first  day  I  spent  in  this  city.  Some- 
where down  here  we  came  among  the  sick  and  lowly,  and  went 
from  one  house  to  another  singing  and  praying  with  the  people  ; 
and  what  a  blessing  we  received.  God  led  us  into  other  fields. 
I  remember  when  the  Tabernacle  was  rebuilt,  how  I  used  to 
enjoy  gathering  the  little  people  in  and  teaching  them  those 
sweet  songs  that  are  already  encircling  the  globe.  Yes,  encir- 
cling tiie  globe,  for  but  a  few  days  ago  I  received  a  copy  of  these 
gospel  hymns  printed  in  the  Chinese  language.  They  are  sung 
in  Africa  and  Asia,  and  are  heard  in  France  and  Germany, 
England  and  America.  I  remember  what  peace  and  pleasure  I 
had  as  I  first  taught  these  little  hymns  on  the  North  Side.  One 
day  a  lady  called  on  me  when  I  first  had  those  classes  and 
said  :  "  There  is  a  little  singing  girl  belonging  to  one  of  your 
classes  who  is  dying.  She  wants  you  to  go  and  see  her."  I 
went  to  her  home — a  little  frame  cottage — and  there  I  found  a 
little  maid  dying — one  whom  I  had  known  so  well  in  the  Thurs- 
day evening  meetings.  T  said,  "  My  dear  child,  how  is  it  with 
you  ?  "  "  Will  you  pray  for  my  father  and  mother  as  you  pray 
for  us?"  was  the  reply.  '*  But  how  is  it  with  yourself.^"  I 
again  asked.  "  Oh,  sir,"  she  answered,  "  they  tell  me  I  am 
about  to  die,  but  I  have  found  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  "  When 
did  you  become  a  Christian  ?  "  I  inquired.  *'  Don't  you  remem- 
ber one  Thursday  when  you  were  teaching  me  to  sing — 

I  am  so  glad  that  Jesus  loves  me, 
Jesus  loves  me,  Je^us  loves  me  ? 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  557 

And  don't  you  remember  how  you  told  us  that  if  we  only 
gave  our  hearts  to  Him  He  would  love  us,  and  I  «;ave  it  to 
Him  ?"  What  that  little  dying  girl  said  to  me  helped  to  cheer 
me  on  more  than  anything  I  had  heard  before,  because  she  was 
my  first  convert.  Thank  God,  there  have  been  many  since. 
And  then  this  blessed  union  puts  me  in  mind  of  the  union, wc 
witnessed  in  London.  I  cannot  tell  for  the  life  of  me  who  all 
these  ministers  and  christians  are,  and  probably  Mr.  Moody 
can't  either,  but  all  seem  united.  This  scene  puts  me  in  ^mind 
of  one  witnessed  on  the  Thames,  in  London,  one  Saturday  after- 
noon. It  was  our  holiday,  and  we  went  for  a  sail  on  the  river. 
As  we  were  going  up  I  noticed  that  there  were  many  vessels  that 
appeared  to  be  stranded  ;  all  sail  was  set,  and  the  sailors  were 
on  the  decks,  but  the  ships  were  perfectly  stationary.  I  asked 
the  captain,  and  he  told  me  they  were  stranded  because  the  tide 
was  out.  In  the  afternoon,  as  we  came  up — the  tide  from  the 
ocean  had  rolled  up,  and  the  water  had  risen — we  saw  the  ves- 
sels were  going  out  to  the  sea  in  full  sail,  and  I  remember  how 
the  whole  scene  brought  to  my  mind  the  hymn  : 

Ligkt  in  the  darkness  sailor,  day  is  at  liand, 
See  o'er  the  foaming  biHows  fair  heaven's  land. 

I  thought  it  was  a  very  good  picture  of  the  church  to-day. 
All  the  doubts  and  difficulties  seem  to  have  been  swept  away 
by  the  tide  of  salvation  which  has  broken  over  the  city,  and  the 
sailors  are  singing  the  songs  of  praises.  I  hope  and  pray  that 
God  may  keep  this  tide  at  its  flood,  and  in  the  coming  weeks  the 
blessings  shall  be  many. 

Mr.  Sankey  said* again:  We  were  holding  some  meetings  at 
Northfield,  Massachusetts,  the  home  of  Mr.  Moody,  and  after 
the  service  a  gentleman  came  to  me  and,  taking  me  by  the  hand, 
said  with  deep  emotion  :  When  you  were  here  last  year  I  did 
not  believe  in  religion  and  would  not  go  to  your  meetings.  But 
one  evening  when  the  church  was  too  small  to  holcTlhe  people, 
Mr.  Moody  left  the  church  and  the  meeting  was  held  in  the 
open  air.  I  was  sitting  under  the  porch  of  my  house  over  on 
the  mounta.n  side  across  the  river,  and  a  line  of  that  song  came 


558  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

wafted  to  me  on  that  still  air  of  tlie  evening:  "Rejoice!  for  the 
Lord  brings  back  his  own."  I  began  to  feel  the  force  of  the 
truth  that  the  Good  Shepherd  was  looking  after  me,  but  I  de- 
termined not  to  be  caught  by  Moody  and  Sankey,  and  so  kept 
away  from  the  meeting  till  after  you  were  gone  away.  Then  I 
went  to  the  church,  the  Good  Shepherd  found  me,  and  now  I 
with  my  family  belong  to  this  church.  And  when  I  heard  that, 
I  said  to  myself,  I  will  keep  on  singing  this  little  song,  since 
the  Lord  is  still  using  it  to  bring  back  the  wanderers  to  his  fold. 
Mr.  Sankey  sang  a  hymn  he  had  not  sung  since  the  Sunday 
night  of  the  great  fire.  That  night  he  got  into  a  boat  with  what 
things  he  had  saved  from  the  fire,  and  put  out  into  the  lake, 
when,  tossed  by  the  billows,  he  watched  Chicago  burn,  and 
sung, 

Dark  is  the  night  and  cold  the  winter  air. 

Mr.  Sankey  sang,  "  The  mistakes  of  my  life  have  been  many," 
prefacing  it  with  the  remark  that  the  Lord  generally  let  His 
people  make  mistakes  enough  to  keep  them  humble,  but  past  mis- 
takes were  no  reasons  for  discouragement. 

A  substantial-looking  business  man  said  that  till  a  short  time 
ago  he  was  a  confirmed  skeptic.  On  the  eleventh  of  October  he 
dropped  into  the  Tabernacle  hall  with  a  friend  and  heard  Mr. 
Sankey  sing  "  Watching  and  Waiting."  The  song  haunted  him. 
He  couldn't  get  rid  of  its  influence.  It  compelled  him  to  kneel 
before  God  that  night  and  ask  pardon  and  grace,  and  he  felt  the 
answer  to  his  prayer  instantly.  He  had  served  the  devil  thirty- 
nine  years,  and  he  was  a  hard  master.  His  present  master  was 
an  easy  one.  All  his  old  bad  habits  had  been  taken  away.  He 
hadn't  cared  to  swear  or  drink.  The  Bible  that  he  had  attacked 
1)0  was  satisfied  was  true. 

Mr.  Sankey's  voice  sometimes  loses  its  freshness,  but  when  he 
sits  at  his  little  organ  and  sings  alone,  there  is  a  depth  of  feeling 
in  his  song  that  stirs  the  soul  of  even  an  unchristian  listener  to 
sympathy.  His  solos  are  the  only  parts  of  the  musical  exercises 
that  carry  any  power  with  them.  Listening  to  him,  it  becomes 
easy  to  understand  the  secret  of  his   power.     He   believes,  and 


THE    GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  559 

every  one  ofliis  clearly  articulated  words  drops  into  the  hearts 
of  his   auditors  as  only  the  words  of  an  earnest  believer  could. 

The  solos  might  be  like  the  songs  of  birds,  but  the  grand 
chorus  was  like  the  sound  of  many  waters.  Tiie  very  air  was 
tremulous  with  waves  of  harmony.  That  strange  effect  was 
again  perceptible  which  once  or  twice  has  been  noticed  before — 
while  the  congregation  sang  the  opening  hymn,  "Nearer,  my 
God,  to  Thee,"  the  music  could  be  distinctly  felt,  as  one  some- 
times feels  the  electric  condition  of  the  air  before  a  thunder- 
storm. 

Dr.  Gray  and  Mr.  Thain  give 

Incidents  from   the  Inquiry-rooms: 

On  a  rainy  evening,  while  the  doors  of  the  Tabernacle  were 
closed,  during  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  a  man  and  his 
wife  came  to  one  of  the  doors  and  sought  admittance.  Find- 
ing it  locked,  the  man  rapped  loudly  and  disturbed  the  meet- 
ing;  and  one  of  the  janitors  stepped  to  the  door,  opened  it, 
and  supposing  that  there  was  a  crowd,  and  that  their  entrance 
would  drown  Mr.  Moody's  voice,  opened  the  door  far  enough 
to  address  the  man,  and  informed  him  that  the  doors  could  not 
be  opened  until  the  conclusion  of  the  reading.  This  so  incensed 
the  man  that  he  began  to  curse  and  swear  at  an  appalling  rate. 
The  janitor,  on  opening  the  door  a  little  wider,  and  seeing  that 
only  two  were  waiting,  and  that  it  was  raining  quite  hard,  told 
them  to  step  inside  and  wait  until  Mr.  Moody  finished  reading, 
when  they  would  be  shown  to  a  seat.  No  sooner  did  the  man 
enter  than  he  turned  on  the  janitor  and  began  to  heap  upon 
him  curses  and  abuse,  and  taking  a  seat  near  the  door  with 
his  wife,  refused,  after  the  reading,  to  be  shown  a  better  one. 
The  janitor,  who  is  a  Christian,  thought  that  he  would  watch  the 
effect  of  the  sermon  upon  the  blasphemer.  At  first  he  seemed 
to  be  utterly  indifferent,  but  gradually  he  began  to  look  at  the 
speaker  for  a  moment  at  a  time,  and  before  the  discourse  was 
finished  was  leaning  eagerly  forward  in  wrapt  attention.  At 
the  close  of  the  sermon,  during  Mr.  Moody's  prayer,  he  bowed 
his  head  on  the  chair  in   front  of  him.     When   Mr.   Moody  ia 


560  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

his  prayer  said,  "  O  God,  hear  the  prayers  of  that  wife  for  her 
unsaved  husband,"  the  wife  laid  her  hand  upon  his  shoulder 
and  he  sobbed  aloud  ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  prayer,  when  the 
invitation  was  given  for  all  who  were  anxious  to  retire  to  the 
inquiry-room,  he  was  the  first  to  rise  and  enter,  followed  by  his 
wife  and  the  prayers  of  the  janitor. 

A  Mr.  Doolittle,  who  had  been  a  drunkard  for  twenty-two 
years,  testified  to  his  acceptance  of  Christ  some  four  or  five 
weeks  ago ;  his  wife  was  also  converted,  and  they  had  erected 
a  family  altar. 

A  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade  who  had  also  been  a  hard 
drinker,  testified  to  his  being  saved  through  the  medium  of  the 
hymn  "  Hallelujah,  'tis  done." 

Mr.  Benjamin  Patrick  had  inherited  a  comfortable  fortune 
from  his  father,  and  had  filled  several  prominent  positions  in 
Chicago,  but  had  finally  fallen,  through  drink.  While  he  was 
endeavoring  to  pray  at  the  meeting  of  the  Women's  Temperance 
Union  at  Farwell  Hall,  it  seemed  as  if  a  voice  whispered  in  his 
ear,  "  Ben,  you  can  stop  if  you  will,  I  will  stand  by  you."  He 
felt  that  Christ  had  forgiven  him  his  sins,  and  he  stood  up  and 
told  his  friends  about  him  that  such  was  the  case.  His  friends, 
some  hundreds  of  miles  away,  were  laying  plans  to  come  to 
Chicago  to  try  and  save  him,  but  Christ  had  got  ahead  of  them. 

Three  more  who  had  been  drunkards  for  several  years  gave 
testimony  to  the  power  of  Christ  in  saving  them  from  their 
appetites. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  meetings  all  who  desire  to  remain 
for  further  prayer  are  invited  to  do  so,  and  the  audience  is  dis- 
missed. From  a  third  to  a  half  of  the  people  retire,  when  in- 
quirers are  requested  to  meet  in  the  appointed  apartments,  the 
women  in  one  and  the  men  in  another.  The  persons  sent  to 
converse  with  them  are  carefully  chosen,  consisting  of  ministers 
and  wise  and  discreet  laymen  and  women.  Ill-balanced  enthu- 
siasts would  crowd  into  these  meetings  to  "labor*'  with  inquir- 
ers, and  do  infinite  mischief.  All  these  details  Mr.  Moody 
holds  firmly  under  his  own  control,  and  though  always  kind,  is 
always  rigorous.     The  tender  conscience,  the  broken  heart,  the 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  561 

trembling  flame  of  new  love  for  Christ,  the  feeble  light  of  hope, 
require  the  careful,  gentle,  wise  treatment  whicii  can  only  come 
of  hearts  filled  with  Christ  and  hands  trained  to  delicacy  of 
touch.  In  the  firm  refusal  of  admittance  to  every  self-appointed 
spiritual  physician,  is  common  sense  and  practical  benevolence. 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  when  Mr.  Moody  called  upon 
those  who  wished  to  accept  Christ  to  arise,  or  those  who  had 
just  been  saved  to  testify,  and  after  several  had  borne  testi- 
mony, which  is  always  brief,  such  as,  "  I  have  just  acceprfed 
Christ,"  or,  "  I  have  been  saved  to-night,"  a  tall  German  arose, 
and  in  his  broken  English  said  : 

''  I  am  saved  !  " 

Mr.  Moody :  "  When  did  you  accept  Christ,  my  friend  ?  " 

German  :  "  Night  before  last." 

Mr.  Moody  :  "  That  is  good.     Now,  is  there  another .?  " 

German:  "Here"  (leaning  over  and  assisting  a  lady  to 
rise). 

Lady  :  ''I  have  been  saved." 

Mr.  Moody  :  "  When  did  you  accept  ?  " 

Lady:  "To-night." 

Mr.  Moody  to  German  :  "  Is  that  your  wife  ?  " 

German:  '"No,  my  neighbor;*'  and  then  assisting  a  lady 
beside  him  to  rise,  he  again  said,  "  Here  ! " 

Lady  (with  face  all  aglow)  :  "  I  am  saved !  " 

Mr.  Moody  :  ''  When  did  you  accept  ?  " 

Lady  :  "  Last  night." 

German  :  "  No  !  this  morning  at  three  o'clock." 

Mr.  Moody,  to  German  :  "  Who  is  that .''  " 

German  :  ''  T/ia^  is  my  wife." 

And  thus  the  work  goes  on.  Whole  families  are  coming  to 
Christ. 

An  intemperate  man  found  the  Saviour  and  deliverance  from 
his  appetite,  and  then  began  praying  for  his  wife.  The  next 
night  he  brought  her  with  him  to  the  meeting,  and  induced  her 
to  enter  the  inquiry-room.  Seeking  out  the  man  who  pointed 
him  to  the  Saviour,  he  said,  "Oh,  she's  here  !  There  she  is! 
Come  and  talk  to  her!  "     She  found  salvation  that  night,  and 


562  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

now  that  man  says,  "T  am  the  happiest  man  in  Cook  county; 
I  know  I  am  ! ''  The  same  features  which  have  characterized 
the  meetings  held  by  our  brethren  elsewhere,  is  apparent  here. 
There  is  nothing  like  undue  excitement  in  the  large  meetings, 
or  the  meetings  in  the  inquiry-rooms. 

Instances  like  the  following  are  often  brought  to  light.  A 
worker  spoke  to  a  young  man  to  whom  he  was  directed  by  Mr. 
Moody.  Sitting  down  beside  him  he  asked:  '*  Well,  what  are 
your  difficulties?" 

"  I  have  none,  sir." 

"  No  difficulties  ?     Then  you  must  be  saved." 

*'Yes,  sir." 

*'  When  did  you  accept  salvation  t  " 

"  A  few  moments  ago,  while  listening  to  the  sermon." 

And  thus  the  blessed  work  goes  on.  Fathers,  husbands  and 
wives,  brothers,  sisters,  children  and  friends,  who  have  been  the 
subjects  of  many  prayers,  are  now  being  led  into  the  fold  ;  yea, 
and  outcasts,  who  have  no  one  to  pray  for  them,  are  finding 
that  there  is  a  Saviour  even  greater  than  their  sins. 

A  prominent  business  man  from  Boston  being  in  Chicago  on 
business,  was  induced  by  a  friend  to  go  to  the  Tabernacle  just 
before  leaving  on  the  train  for  his  home  in  Boston,  he  having 
purchased  his  ticket,  intending  to  leave  on  the  night  train.  The 
gentleman  was  a  Unitarian  in  belief,  and  a  scoffer  at  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Atonement.  After  attending  the  evening  meeting 
he  told  his  friend  he  had  changed  his  mind  about  starting  for 
home  that  night,  not  stating  his  reason  for  so  doing,  however. 
The  next  night  he  went  to  tlie  meeting  again,  and  again  post- 
poned the  time  of  his  departure  ;  and  on  the  third  night,  I  be- 
lieve, he  entered  the  inquiry-room  and  there  accepted  Christ, 
and  now  he  does  not  know  when  he  will  return  to  Boston.  He 
has  entered  the  inquiry-room  as  a  worker,  and  is  visiting  the 
business  men  of  his  acquaintance,  and  trying  to  inlluencc  them 
to  accept  the  (Jospel  i)lan  of  salvation.  As  he  is  a  man  of  great 
wealth  and  social  standing,  and  as  he  is  thoroughly  in  earnest 
in  the  Master's  work,  there  is  no  telling  how  many  he  may  lead 
home  to  glory  with  him. 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  563 

The  writer  met  a  young  man  in  tlie  inquiry-room,  who  was 
under  deep  conviction,  who  said,  upon  being  asked  if  he  would 
believe  and  accept  Christ:  "  1  have  been  raised  a  Universalist, 
and  taught  that  all  would  be  saved,  but,"  said  he,  while  tears 
sprang  to  his  eyes,  "  I  feel  very  strange  since  I  heard  that  ser- 
mon ;  I  can't  tell  what  is  the  matter  with  me."  The  sermon 
was  on  the  text :  "  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wil- 
derness, even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  that  whoso- 
ever believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life." 
The  Word  was  presented  to  him,  and,  after  praying  for  him,  he 
was  asked  to  offer  a  word  of  prayer.  The  struggle  was  a  hard 
one  ;  only  broken  sentences  and  sobs  at  first  ;  but  at  last,  rais- 
ing himself  up,  he  said,  trustingly:  "Lord  Jesus,  I  believe  that 
Yoii  died  for  me."  Then  the  strujr2;le  was  all  over,  and  the 
"peace  which  passelh  all  understanding"  came,  and  the  new- 
born soul  began  to  praise  the  giver  of  salvation. 

A  Chicago  rationalist,  sure  of  his  logic,  accosted  Mr.  Moody 
with,  *'  Mr.  Moody,  will  you  meet  me  in  argument  on  this  whole 
question  ?  " 

"No,"  said  Moody;  "I  will  not." 

"Just  as  I  expected.  You  can  dogmatize  ad  libiiutn  at  the 
Tabernacle,  but  you  dare  not  meet  the  tests  of  reason." 

"  Look  here,  my  friend,"  said  Moody ;  "  you  are  an  educated 
man,  and  have  a  wide  range  of  learning;  now,  do  you  suppose 
you  could  make  a  (iy  undei^stand  all  that  you  know.?" 

"  No,  of  course  I  could  not." 

'^  Well,  the  difference  between  you  and  God  is  a  million  times 
greater  than  the  difference  between  you  and  a  fly.  Would nt 
it  be  more  in  keeping  if  you  would  not  deny  what  you  know 
that  God  has  said  to  you  through  your  oian  conscience?  Settle 
that  quarrel  of  yours  with  God,  and  you'll  have  enough  to  do." 

There  was  no  answer  to  this,  because  the  man  knevv  that  he 
was  having  just  that  battle  on  hand. 

An  old,  grey-haired  Irishman  thus  relates  his  experience: 
"  When  the  Tabernacle  was  being  built  I  was  on  hand  every 
day,  and  when  some  of  the  workmen  inquired  whnt  my  business 
was,  I  told  them  I  was  inspector.     I  was  hoping  all  the  lime, 


564  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

that,  when  the  building  was  finished,  I  might  be  the  first 
be  converted.     I  was  not  the  first,  but,  glory  be  to  God !   I  was 
converted  there.     I  have  had  a  taste  of  the  water  of  life,  and 
now  I  am  hungry  for  the  bread  of  life,  that  I  may  grow  strong 
in  Christ's  service.     Pray  for  me." 

A  lady  spoke  to  a  young  man,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  trust- 
ing in  Christ  as  his  Saviour.  He  hesitated  a  moment,  and  said 
"Yes;  I  am."  An  old  gentleman  sitting  near  him,  addressing 
the  lady,  said,  "  Yes  ;  my  son  was  saved  last  night.  He  is  the 
youngest  of  seven  sons,  and  now  they  are  all  Christians.  I 
brought  him  eighty  miles  to  attend  these  meetings  in  order  that 
he  might  be  saved,  and  I  did  not  come  in  vain." 

Sunday  morning  a  lady  spoke  of  her  anxiety  for  two  friends, 
and  said  that  she  was  praying  that  they  might  be  converted 
that  day.  In  the  evening  she  brought  them  with  her,  and  they 
were  both  led  to  accept  Christ  before  they  left  the  room. 
Another  case  is  mentioned  of  a  man  who  refused  to  attend  the 
meetings,  saying  that  he  could  not  believe  in  such  an  absurd 
doctrine  as  substitution.  At  noon  he  picked  up  a  paper  con- 
taining one  of  Mr.  Moody's  addresses,  and  began  to  read  it. 
He  threw  it  down  when  partly  read,  and  left  for  his  business. 
In  the  evening,  when  he  came  home,  he  picked  up  the  same 
paper  and  began  to  read  the  unfinished  address.  One  of  Mr. 
Moody's  touching  incidents  fastened  itself  upon  his  mind  and 
in  his  heart.  He  rose  up,  entered  his  room,  and  then  and  there 
gave  himself  to  the  Lord,  and  is  now  rejoicing  in  Christ,  his 
substitute.  Three  young  men  came  to  one  of  the  meetings 
"just  to  pass  away  an  hour."  At  the  close  of  the  meeting  one 
of  them  entered  the  inquiry-room,  having  been  brought  under 
deep  conviction.  His  two  friends  agreed  to  wait  in  the  large 
room  for  him.  In  the  inquiry-room  he  was  led  to  put  faith  in 
Christ  as  his  Saviour,  and  then  went  out  to  meet  his  friends. 
He  found  a  worker  conversing  with  them,  and  found  that  one 
of  them  was  rejoicing  in  the  same  blessed  hope  which  he  had 
found,  and  the  other  was  under  deep  conviction. 


the  gospel  in  chicago.  565 

Who'll  take  Christ. 

"Come,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  at  this  meeting,  "  we  seem  to  bo 
short  of  workers,  and  as  I've  the  same  thing  to  say  to  each  I 
may  as  well  say  it  to  all ;  "  and  mounting  a  chair,  he  said  : 

''  Who'll  take  Christ  now  ?  That's  all  you  want.  With  Christ 
you  have  eternal  life  and  everything  else  you  need.  Without 
Him  you  must  perish.  He  olTcrs  Himself  to  you.  WhoMl  take 
Him } " 

"  I,"  falters  a  trembling  girl.  "  I,"  and  "I,"  say  others,  who 
rise  and  gather  round  the  speaker  till  about  a  dozen  are 
standing. 

"Now,  let  all  inquirers  and  all  who  now  will  take  Christ  as 
their  own  for  the  first  time,  kneel  down  and  take  Him,"  then, 
turning  to  one  who  still  stood  near,  "have  you  taken  Christ? " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Then,  are  you  saved.'*" 

"I  don't  know.     I  wish  I  could  feel  so." 

*'  Don't  you  see  you  haven't  done  what  you  said  you  had,  foi 
to  take  Christ  is  to  believe  what  He  says,  and  He  says :  '  Who- 
soever believeth  Aat/i  everlasting  life.'  " 

Coming  out  of  the  afternoon  meeting  a  little  girl  accosted  us 
with:  "  Please  show  me  the  way  to  the  inquiry-room." 

"  This  way,  little  one,"  we  said.  Coming  soon  to  where  the 
crush  was  greater  than  elsewhere,  we  felt  the  little  fingers 
clasped  tightly  round  our  arm  and  the  little  form  pressed  closely 
to  our  side. 

"  That's  the  way  to  get  to  heaven,"  we  said,  as  by  a  sudden 
impulse.  "  Hold  tight  to  the  hand  of  Jesus,  press  closely  to  His 
side,  and  He  will  guide  you  safely  through  all  uncertainties  and 
confusions  to  the  very  place  where  you  want  to  go.'' 

"  Yes,"  said  the  child  approvingly,  "  Vm  a  Christian  already  , 
but  I  want  to  learn  how  to  get  close  to  Jesus  and  to  hold  tight 
to  His  hand."  . 

A  correspondent  has  taken  a  stolen  glance  at  Mr.  Moody's 
Bible.  It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  this  great  revival 
preacher  has  a  Bible  which  he  uses  on  all  occasions,  in  public 


566  WOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

as  well  as  in  private,  wherever  he  appears,  before  his  immense 
audiences  ;  whether  in  the  pulpit  of  our  churches  or  on  the  stand 
in  one  of  our  great  halls  or  opera  houses,  however  handsome  a 
copy  of  the  Word  of  God  may  be  placed  before  him  for  his  use, 
he  neglects  it  for  this  smaller  flexible  back  edition  which  he 
readily  holds  in  his  hand,  and  with  every  portion  of  which  he 
appears  familiar.  To  any  passage  or  text — whether  in  the  Old 
or  the  New  Testament — in  this,  he  turns  at  once  in  expounding 
or  illustrating  the  meaning  of  the  Scriptures. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  occasions,  while  Mr.  Moody  was  hold- 
ing some  of  his  gospel  meetings  at  one  of  our  Western  towns,  I 
chanced  to  be  present.  The  service  of  which  I  speak  was  held 
in  a  capacious  opera  house.  There  was  a  vast  audience  assem- 
bled :  I  was  on  the  stand  not  far  from  Mr.  Moody  ;  he  was 
seated  beside  the  cabinet  organ,  which  was  closed,  with  his  arm 
resting  on  its  top,  while  his  hand  lay  carelessly  on  his  Bible. 
Some  other  minister  had  been  addressing  the  congregation. 
Suddenly  something  attracted  his  attention  and  induced  him  to 
leave  his  seat  by  the  organ  and  take  a  chair  just  in  front.  At 
that  moment  a  call  was  made  for  one  of  Mr.  Sankey's  soul- 
stirring  hymns.  In  an  instant  all  was  hushed  to  breathless  silence 
I  quietly  took  the  seat  at  the  closed  organ  which  Mr.  Moody 
had  vacated.  There  lay  that  wonderful  Bible,  parted  for  a  brief 
season  from  the  hand  that  held  it,  while  every  one  was  wrapt  in 
ecstatic  peace  by  the  music  of  Mr.  Sankey's  melodious  voice, 
and  seized  this  precious  opportunity  to  examine  Mr.  Moody's 
Bible. 

I  turned  over  the  leaves  from  Genesis  to  Revelation.  It  was 
in  itself  a  wonder.  No  schoolboy's  primer  was  ever  thumbed 
and  worn  by  use  as  this  book.  It  appears  to  be  marked,  anno- 
tated, and  interlined  in  almost  every  page  and  chapter  with 
njarginal  and  foot-notes,  from  beginning  to  the  end.  Even  in 
my  hasty  glance  I  was  favorably  struck  with  remarks  on  passa- 
ges whicii  had  entirely  escaped  my  observation  in  all  my  pre- 
vious examinalions  of  Scripture. 

And  here,  I  have  seen  on  this  very  sword  the  evidence  of  a 
desperate  conflict :  here    I   see  the  very   marks  left  by  blows 


THE  GOSPEL  IM  CHICAGO.  567 

which  he  has  dealt  ;  here  on  this  Bible  are  the  witnesses — the 
battered  blade,  the  glint  and  gaps,  left  to  bear  testimony  of  the 
hand  tD  hand  contlict  where  the  battle  was  raging  and  the 
victory  won. 

Mr.  Moorehousk 

Came  forward  with  a  Bible  in  his  hand,  saying,  '*  Luke  begins 
his  Book  of  the  Acts  by  referring  to  his  gospel,  in  which  he  says 
he  has  given  an  account  of  all  that  Jesus  began  both  to  do  and 
to  teach.  Mind  ye,  the  '  do  '  comes  first.  There  are  a  good 
many  of  us  who  don't  seem  to  have  very  much  success  in  teach- 
ing; and  I  fancy  the  difficulty  is  that  we  try  to  begin  with  the 
teaching  rather  than  the  doing.  A  friend  once  sent  me  some 
beautiful  plants  for  my  cottage  garden  in  the  Old  Country.  I  set 
them  out,  and  in  midsummer  the  garden  was  very  showy  with 
the  great  bright  colored  geraniums.  People  used  to  come  to 
see  me  and  praise  my  geraniums,  and  then  after  a  while  they 
would  say,  '  what  is  it  that  smells  so  sweet  ?'  I'll  tell  you  what 
it  was.  It  was  not  the  great  showy  geraniums  at  all ;  but  a  little 
bed  of  mignonette  down  in  one  corner  that  nobody  noticed  and 
nobody  praised.  Oh,  my  friends,  I  would  rather  be  a  sprig  of 
mignonette  in  God's  garden  than  all  the  showy  geraniums 
in  the  world.  God  does  not  want  people  for  show,  but  for 
sweetness." 

This  is  the  brother  to  whom  Mr.  Moody  is  confessedly  in- 
debted for  a  gracious  change  in  the  spirit  and  methods  of  his 
preaching. 

•      Praying  for  Drunkards. 

We  select  from  the  Intcr-OiWin  report:  Previous  to  the  reg- 
ular services  tlie  people  sung  several  hymns.  This  particularly 
good  idea  was  carried  out  at  all  the  meetings,  thus  obviating  any 
feeling  of  monotony  or  stitTness  ihnt  might  fall  upon  the  audi- 
ence through  silence.  Upon  entering,  Mr.  Moody  requested 
about  five  hundred  Christians  present  to  go  down  to  the  lower 
Farwell  Hall  and  pray  for  the  meeting,  and  allow  room  for  many 


^OS  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

who  would  be  turned  away  if  space  was  not  given.  A  great 
many,  after  an  apparent  reluctance,  arose  and  went  down  stairs, 
where  a  crowded  meeting  was  held. 

The  people  bowed  their  heads  in  silent  prayer  while  the  Rev. 
Davis  read  the  following  requests  for  prayer  :  For  the  con- 
version of  two  sisters  addicted  to  the  use  of  stimulants;  from 
Sandwich,  Illinois,  for  a  brother  in  this  city,  intemperate  ;  for 
young  men  in  Washingtonian  Home  ;  for  the  conversion  of  a 
friend  in  bondage  to  drink  ;  for  a  brother  fifty  years  old  ad- 
dicted to  drink ;  for  two  friends,  that  the  appetite  for  drink  be 
destroyed;  for  a  husband  who  has  stopped  drinking,  but  not  a 
Christian  ;  for  two  inebriates,  heads  of  families  ;  for  the  drunk- 
ards of  Warsaw,  Indiana  ;  for  the  intemperate  husbands  in 
Framingham,  Massachusetts  ;  for  step-brother  out  of  employ- 
ment taken  to  drink  ;  for  two  husbands,  inebriates;  for  eight 
intemperate  sons^  by  their  parents  ;  for  a  moderate  drinker  ;  for 
a  man  given  to  drink  ;  for  a  drunkard  asking  prayers  for  him- 
self ;  for  three  men  trying  to  reform  themselves  ;  for  an  intem- 
perate physician  ;  for  a  confirmed  inebriate  ;  for  a  son  by  a 
mother,  Cleveland,  Ohio;  for  a  husband  and. father  ;  for  a  son 
by  a  mother,  Dayton,  Ohio  ;  for  a  son  by  a  mother;  for  an  only 
son  in  Dixon,  Illinois,  by  a  mother  ;  for  a  clergyman  who  has 
fallen  through  intemperance ;  for  a  husband  and  father  wiio 
drinks  and  profanes  ;  for  a  lad  who  drinks;  for  a  young  married 
man  who  drinks  ;  for  an  architect  who  drinks  ;  for  a  father, 
brother,  and  friend  in  the  office,  who  all  drink ;  for  a  young 
liquor-seller  in  Mansfield,  Ohio,  who  drinks;  for  a  young  man 
from  the  East,  who  has  been  drinking  since  thirteen  years  of 
age  ;  for  three  brothers  by  a  sister  ;  for  a  husband  from  Con- 
nellsville,  Pennsylvania,  thrown  into  jail  by  drink  ;  for  the  sa- 
loon-keepers of  this  city,  that  God  would  open  the  eyes  of  man- 
ufacturers of  strong  drink ;  for  an  inebriate  husband  who  cannot 
live  long  unless  saved  by  Christ ;  for  a  brother  and  two  sons- 
in-law  drinking ;  for  a  young  man  found  intoxicated  in  the 
street  last  night. 

After  prayer  and  singing  Mr.  Moody  said  : 

The  only  time  the   Edinburgh   castle  was  ever  taken  was  by 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  569 

its  Strongest  point.  The  besieged  trusted  to  its  precipitous  and 
rugged  rocks  in  the  rear  to  keep  it,  and  concentrated  all  their 
energies  upon  the  gates,  but  while  they  were  keeping  their  foe 
from  the  entrance  the  enemy  climbed  the  rocks  and  scaled  the 
walls  and  obtained  possession  of  the  fortress.  A  man  might 
think  he  has  every  power  to  resist  the  cup,  but  he  will  be  dis- 
appointed. The  only  power  that  could  overcome  the  passion 
for  strong  drink  was  to  be  obtained  from  the  gospel,  and  Mr. 
Moody  closed  with  an  urgent  appeal  to  every  one  within  the 
range  of  his  voice  to  partake  of  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  which* 
would  lead  them  in  the  way  of  truth  and  purity. 

A  few  moments  of  silent  prayer  intervened,  when 

Mr,  Sawyer  was  introduced,  who  said  that  four  years  ago  he  had 
no  power  to  resist  strong  drink.  He  was  under  its  dominion,  and 
had  no  hope.  He  had  made  promises  to  himself  over  and  over 
again  to  resist  the  cup,  but  his  efforts  were  futile,  until  he  came 
under  the  influence  of  the  gospel.  He  spoke  of  the  progress  of 
the  work  here  and  in  the  Etist,  and  from  the  evidence  brought 
before  them  day  after  day  it  could  only  be  inferred  that  the 
hand  of  God  was  in  the  work.  He  cited  several  cases  by  way 
of  encouragement,  in  which  the  passion  had  been  overcome  by 
Christ's  influence,  and  concluded  by  an  earnest  advice  to  in- 
temperate men  to  come  from  the  pit  of  darkness  in  which  they 
were  living. 

"  Rescue  the  Perishing  "  was  sung  by  Mr.  Sankey,  the  con- 
gregation joining  in  the  refrain. 

Mr.  Moody  introduced  Mr.  Cummings,  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  who  said  it  was  very  hard  for  him  to  stand 
before  an  audience  like  the  present  and  confess  to  his  own 
shame,  but  if  it  would  do  any  good  for  the  cause,  he  was  willing 
to*  sink  all  personal  considerations.  He  believed  that  Chris- 
tianity was  the  only  means  of  reformation  left  for  a  drunkard, 
and  the  testimony  of  those  who  had  been  reclaimed  from  the 
use  of  ardent  spirits  by  its  power  would  be  suflicient  evidence 
of  th's.  He  said  he  had  not  been  a  low-down  drunkard,  but  he 
had  been  far  enough  down  to  feel  the  shame  of  his  past  life. 
If  there  was  one  class  in  the  community  who  needed  the  prayers 


570 


MOODY   AND   SANKEV    IN    AMERICA. 


of  the  community  more  than  another  it  was  the  drunkards.  It 
was  the  experience  of  all  that  pledges  and  promises  will  not  do 
any  good.  He  had  made  the  most  solemn  promises,  but  after 
a  few  days  liquor  had  fresh  allurements  for  him,  and  he  fell 
back  again  The  only  remedy,  said  the  speaker,  is  to  turn  to 
Christ ;  and,  unless  a  man  who  is  addicted  to  its  use  will  turn 
to  Ilim  he  will  go  down  deeper  and  deeper  until  there  is  no 
hope  for  him. 

The  speaker  was  about  to  sit  down  when  Mr.  Moody  said; 
Tell  us  how  you  were  saved. 

Mr.  Cummings — My  mother,  wife  and  children  prayed  for 
me,  and  I  prayed  for  myself 

Mr.  Moody — You  went  into  the  inquiry-room,  didn't  you  ? 

Mr.  Cummings — Yes.  I  was  taken  sick,  and  while  in  my 
room  I  read  my  Bible  and  a  little  book  Mr.  Moody  gave  me, 
and  from  that  gained  knowledge  and  comfort  that  my  sins  had 
been  forgiven.  Of  course  I  will  carry  the  effects  of  the  sins  I 
have  committed.  I  have  spent  a  considerable  portion  of  my 
life  in  the  service  of  Satan,  but  with  the  grace  of  God,  I  will 
devote  the  rest  of  it  to  his  cause.  I  have  spent  more  than  half 
a  million  of  money  in  the  service  of  Satan. 

Mr.  Moody  wanted  to  call  attention  to  one  point  here,  and 
that  was  that  this  man  crucified  his  pride  in  going  into  that 
inquiry-room.  He  believed  that  pride  was  the  means  of  keeping 
grace  from  a  great  many  in  a  similar  condition  to  the  one  in 
which  the  former  speaker  had  been. 

Mr.  Diller,  of  Springfield,  111.,  is  ten  years  a  Christian,  but  the 
story  of  his  conversion  and  his  subsequent  upholding  by  the 
Lord,  was  so  remarkable  that  he  was  called  upon  to  tell  it.  It 
is  briefly  as  follows :  From  his  early  youth  he  was  accustomed 
to  drink.  So  far  back  was  the  time  that  he  had  no  recollection 
of  when  he  commenced  it.  When  he  came  out  West,  he  setup 
in  the  drug  business,  and  as  was  the  custom,  kept  wine,  whisky, 
brandy  and  gin.  He  drank  very  hard  for  some  years,  but  it  was 
behind  his  own  counter,  and  therefore  he  was  a  respectable 
drunkard.  Mr.  Hammond  came  to  Springfield  in  iS66.  His 
wife,  who  was  a  Quaker,  went  to  hear  him  and  came  back  thor- 


THE   GOSPEL   IN   CHICAGO.  5  7  I* 

oughly  disgusted.  His  son  and  daughter,  however,  continued 
to  go  to  IMr.  Hammond's  meetings,  and  were  so  much  impressed 
that  finally  they  began  to  read  the  Bible.  He  thought  they 
were  getting  a  little  excited,  so  he  forbade  them  going.  They 
begged  to  go  after  school-hours,  so  he  yielded  and  let  them  go. 
One  Tuesday  the  boy  came  home  and  said  he  was  converted. 
On  Wednesday  the  girl  was  converted.  On  Thursday  his  wife, 
who  had  got  over  her  prejudices  and  began  attending  again, 
was  converted  ;  the  little  girl  they  were  raising,  got  also  con- 
verted. The  house  was  now  too  hot  for  him,  and  he  kept  in  the 
store  and  away  from  the  family  as  much  as  possible.  One  day 
as  he  was  going  out  from  dinner,  his  wife  asked  him  :  '*  Won't 
thee  goto  the  meeting?"  "No,  I  won't,"  he  said.  "Won't 
thee  go  and  look  in  ? "  "  No,"  "  If  thee  were  to  die,  what 
would  become  of  thee?"  "I  should  go  to  hell,"  was  the 
answer.  "  When  does  thee  expect  to  repent  ?  "  "  Oh  some 
time."  'MVhen  will  that  sometime  be?"  The  last  question 
kept  ringing  in  his  ears  everywhere  he  went.  Next  Sunday  he 
went  to  church,  and  thought  everything  the  minister  said  was 
directed  to  him.  There  was  an  open-air  meeting  that  Sunday 
afternoon,  but  he  wouldn't  go,  having  to  attend  to  a  sick  call. 
His  wife  and  children  accompanied  him,  but  he  had  scarcely 
left  the  house  when  he  was  face  to  face  with  Mr.  Hammond. 
When  at  that  meeting  his  wife  and  children  stood  up  to  confess 
Christ,  he  felt  a  great  burden,  but  he  could  not  stand  up.  We 
give  the  remainder  of  his  testimony  in  Mr.  Diller's  own  words  : 
One  day  my  son  asked  me,  "  Papa,  why  can't  we  have  family 
prayers  just  as  they  do  at  uncle's?"  That  troubled  me;  to 
think  of  an  old  grey-haired  man  who  couldn't  pray  when  his 
son  asked  him.  One  night  my  wife  sat  up  to  pray  for  me,  and 
in  the  morning  she  said,  "  How  did  thee  sleep  ?  "  "  Very  well," 
I  said  ;  it  was  as  big  a  lie  as  I  ever  told  in  my  life.  Then  I 
rose  for  prayers,  but  it  seemed  as  if  I  had  to  pull  up  the  State 
House  with  me.  For  two  nights  and  three  days  I  could  neither 
eat  nor  sleep,  and  at  last  I  sent  for  Bill  Prentice,  a  Methodist 
elder,  who  used  to  be  just  such  a  man  as  I  was,  and  when  he 
came  I  said : 


572  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

"Bill,  I  am  a  great  deal  dead." 

"  I  am  mighty  glad  of  it,"  says  he. 

♦'What  will  I  do  to  get  out  of  this.?" 

"There  is  nothing  can  help  you  a  bit,  only  the  blood  of 
Christ.     Up  and  believe  !  " 

And  I  did.  I  began  to  pray,  and  instead  of  praying  to  God 
as  one  who  was  a  good  way  off,  I  whispered  right  into  His  ear, 
and  He  saved  me.  I  felt  so  light  and  airy  that  you  could  have 
carried  me  on  top  of  your  little  finger.  Then  we  set  up  the 
family  altar,  and  there  were  five  new-born  souls  around  it.  I 
couldn't  contain  myself  for  joy.  My  appetite  for  liquor  left  me, 
and  for  three  years  I  had  none  of  it.  But  one  day  when  I  was 
ill  the  old  enemy  came  back  with  terrible  force.  I  looked  into 
a  saloon  and  saw  a  couple  of  men  drinking  beer.  It  looked  so 
foaming,  and  cool,  and  bitter,  and  refreshing  !  Just  the  thing  ! 
Then  I  went  down  to  my  store,  where  there  was  wine,  and 
brandy,  and  gin,  and  whisky ;  and  then  I  went  up  into  a  room 
over  the  store  and  said  my  prayers — only  said  them.  There  is 
a  great  difference  between  praying  and  saying  your  prayers. 
When  I  went  down  the  appetite  came  back.  Horror  of  nor- 
rors !  So  I  went  back  and  said  some  more  prayers.  But  when 
I  came  down  the  same  terrible  temptation  seized  upon  me. 
You  drunkards  know  what  it  is.  I  went  back  to  that  little 
room  and  threw  myself  on  my  face  before  God,  and  said,  O 
God,  is  it  Thy  will  that  I  should  once  more  become  a  miserable 
drunkard,  and  bring  ruin  on  myself  and  my  family  ?  I  don't 
know  whether  I  prayed  five,  or  ten,  or  fifteen  minutes,  but,  glory 
be  to  God,  I  got  the  victory  over  that  appetite,  and  have  kept 
it  ever  since. 

The  next  announcement  was  a  surprise  to  the  vast  congrega- 
tion. When  Mr.  Moody  first  came  to  Chicago  he  read  a  letter 
from  a  Scotch  lady,  in  which  the  writer  earnestly  requested  him 
to  be  on  the  look  out  for  her  long  lost  son  Willie,  giving  a  de- 
scription of  him.  It  was  not  known  to  what  part  of  the  world 
the  boy  wandered,  nor,  indeed,  whether  he  was  alive  or  not. 
Last  Friday  Mr.  Sawyer  discovered  in  one  of  the  temperance 
meetings  a  homeless  and  helpless  wanderer  who  turned  out  to 


THE    GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO. 


573 


be  the  young  man  in  question.  Mr.  Moody  now  introduced  to 
the  audience  a  shght  young  man  of  about  thirty  years  of  age, 
who  spoke  in  such  a  way  as  to  carry  the  conviction  tiiat  he  was 
a  man  of  talent  and  cultivation.     He  said: 

Twenty  years  ago  I  was  a  happy  boy  starting  out  from  my 
home  in  Scotland  to  a  school  in  a  distant  city.  My  father 
thouj];ht  to  make  me  a  doctor,  but  my  mother  hoped  I  would  be 
a  minister.  At  school  I  fell  in  with  evil  companions,  and,  as 
the  result,  my  life  has  been  one  long  day  of  debauchery,  the 
memory  of  which  has  lashed  me  with  a  whip  of  scorpions. 
When  I  was  twenty  years  old  I  went  away  to  Australia,  and 
rushed  through  that  country  as  a  gold-seeker.  Then,  growing 
homesick,  I  came  back  to  Europe,  and  landed  in  Amsterdam. 
My  father  came  to  meet  me,  and  after  a  while  secured  me  a 
responsible  position  in  a  drygoods  house.  I  married  one  of  the 
sweetest  little  women  that  ever  drew  the  breath  of  life,  the 
daughter  of  a  minister  and  a  Christian.  In  three  years  she 
died  of  a  broken  heart  on  my  account,  and  when  I  shut  down 
the  big  black  coffin-lid  over  her  white  face  I  felt  as  if  my  last 
hope  was  gone.  We  had  one  daughter,  and  when  I  took  the 
little  child  in  my  arms  and  bade  her  good-bye,  to  go  out  and 
wander  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  she  gave  me  a  hug  as  of  iron, 
her  tears  burnt  into  me,  and  she  said,  "  Papa,  will  you  be  long 
away?"  From  that  time  I  roamed  the  wide  world  over,  misera- 
ble, hungry,  naked, — a  blot  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  When  I 
first  came  to  Chicago  I  tried  for  a  while  to  do  better,  obtained 
a  situation  in  a  house  which  sent  me  out  to  travel ;  but 
with  plenty  of  money  I  went  back  to  my  cups  again — lost 
my  situation,  lost  my  friends,  lost  all.  Then  I  missed  my 
mother  I 

On  Friday  last  I  came  into  this  hall,  and  went  into  the  in- 
quiry-room, after  the  meeting  was  over.  Mr.  Sawyer  asked  me 
my  name,  and  said  he  had  been  looking  for  me  for  six  weeks ; 
told  me  there  was  a  letter  for  me  from  my  father  and  mother. 
Then  they  prayed  for  me.  Man  could  not  save  me,  but  I  bowed 
at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  and  asked  the  mercy  of  Him  who  died 
on  it  for  me,  and  He  saved  me.     And  now  I  would  rather  live 


574  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

on  crusts  of  bread  moistened  only  with  my  tears  than  to  go  back 
to  the  life  of  sin  from  which  I  have  been  saved. 

During  the  giving  of  the  above  testimony  many  thousands 
were  moved  to  tears,  and  when  Mr.  Moody,  in  broken  accents, 
prayed  that  the  prodigal  might  become  a  preacher  of  righteous- 
ness, as  his  mother  designed  him,  the  scene  in  the  house  was 
beyond  description.  It  was  admitted  on  all  hands  that  such  a 
temperance  gathering  was  never  witnessed  in  the  Northwest. 

The  Audiences. 

Again  :  Large  as  the  Tabernacle  is,  the  seating  capacity  is 
entirely  too  limited  for  the  Sunday  night  gatherings.  The  evan- 
gelists would  not  have  the  slightest  difficulty  in  filling  a  building 
half  as  large  again.  At  7.30  the  doors  were  closed,  and  the  no- 
tice hung  upon  the  outer  wall,  "  Overflow  Meeting  in  Farwell 
Hall."  Until  long  after  8  the  stream  of  people,  disappointed  in 
gaining  admission,  was  continuous  coming  from  the  evangelical 
temple.  These  audiences  are  composed  for  the  most  part  of 
people  who  are  either  non-church  goers  or  are  church  members 
whose  interest  in  religion  rarely  extends  beyond  mere  church 
membership.  They  are  all  a  very  respectable,  good-natured- 
looking  lot  of  people,  these  Sunday  folks,  the  bulk  of  them  at- 
tracted, doubtless,  not  from  any  particular  disposition  to  be 
impressed  by  what  they  shall  hear,  but  by  that  spirit  of  curiosity 
which  is  natural.  Some  probably  come  only  to  see  and  mix 
with  the  large  crowd  ;  others  may  wish  to  hear  the  world-famous 
preacher  and  singer  ;  and  again  another  class,  and  by  no  means 
a  small  one,  are  attracted  with  a  view  to  the  discovery  of  tlie 
spring  of  power  by  which  these  men  draw  their  tens  of  thou- 
sands. Many,  too,  come  to  mingle  dress  and  devotion,  who, 
with  one  eye  on  the  hymn-book  and  another  on  the  latest  fash- 
ion, note  the  cut  of  sack  and  polonaise,  the  combinations  of 
color  upon  the  newest  bonnets,  and  these  impressions  very  often 
are  carried  away  to  be  acted  upon,  while  all  evangelical  truths 
are  left  where  they  were  enunciated — in  the  Tabernacle. 

There  are  a  good  many  boys  and  young  men,  and  a  good 
many  girls  and  young  women  among  the  audience,  with  a  scat- 


THE   GUSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  575 

tcring  of  cldcily  people  ;  but  the  majority  are  young  folks.  It 
is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  the  audiences,  be  it  Sunday  or  Monday 
evenings,  are  always  very  decidedly  respectable  in  appearance. 
One  would  suppose  that  the  lowest  orders  would  be  attracted 
to  these  meetings,  if  it  were  possible  to  attract  them  to  any 
place  of  devotion  ;  but  one  looks  in  vain  for  many  representa 
tives  of  that  class  of  men  and  women,  whom  one  would  like, 
above  all  others,  to  see  among  the  crowds  at  the  Tabernacle. 

A  Great  Woman's  Meeting. 

At  the  close  of  the  noon  prayer-meeting  a  most  interesting 
service  was  held  in  Farwell  Hall.  The  mid-day  gathering  was 
one  of  high  privilege,  one  where  Mr.  Moody's  power  as  a  re- 
vivalist was  apparent.  It  had  been  arranged  that  an  extra 
meeting  should  be  held  directly  after  the  noon-day  meeting. 
The  hall  was  cleared  of  all  but  ladies  interested  in  revival  work. 
A  meeting  followed,  where  deep  devotion  and  indications  of 
approaching  awakening  were  manifest.  Between  four  hundred 
and  five  hundred  women  were  present,  mostly  mothers  who  had 
requests  for  prayer  to  otTer,  and  a  large  number  were  prayed 
for. 

We  have  not  spoken,  so  far,  in  these  reports,  of  the  work  of  the 
Ladies'  Committee,  connected  with  the  Tabernacle  meetings. 
One  of  the  gatherings  of  women  brought  together  by  this  commit- 
tee was  held  at  one  of  the  inquiry  rooms  of  the  Tabernacle.  The 
room  was  crowded,  large  numbers  standing.  The  reports  given  in 
showed  that  there  is  diligent  work  done  by  the  ladies  interested. 
Visitors  in  twelve  of  the  city  churches  reported  the  number  of 
calls  made  by  them,  with  incidents  illustrating  the  character  of 
the  work  going  forward  in  the  churches,  respectively.  One  lady, 
Mrs.  Haas,  of  the  Lutheran  church,  had  distributed  nearly  four 
thousand  invitations  to  the  meetings,  two  thousand  cards,  and 
has  spoken  to  nine  hundred  persons  upon  the  subject  of  personal 
religion.  Several  girls  had  been  rescued  from  a  house  of  ill-fame 
and  sent  back  to  their  friends,  and  the  fruit  of  the  womcns' 
work  seems  to  be  abundant. 

Dr.  Gray  says  of  the  Parents'  meeting,  held  on  Tuesday  even- 


576  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

ing  :  It  was  announced  that  a  sermon  would  be  preached  to 
parents,  and  all  the  tributary  roads  running  into  the  city  brought 
in  large  numbers  in  the  afternoon  and  evening  to  attend  the 
meeting.  For  you  must  know  that  the  power  of  the  Gospel  is 
sufficient  to  convert  a  locomotive.  If  there  never  had  been  any 
Gospel  there  never  would  have  been  any  locomotives  ;  and  the 
iron  horses  are  willing  to  recognize  these  obligations  by  good 
ser\'ice  to  the  Master.  They  run  earlier,  later,  faster,  and  carry 
larger  loads.  They  are  proverbially  prompt  and  rigorous  as  to 
their  time-tables,  but  now  they  are  sufficiently  accommodating 
to  wait  a  half  hour  for  the  services  in  the  Tabernacle  to  close. 
But  this  aside — the  Tabernacle  was  full  of  fathers  and  mothers. 
Some  did  not  go.  "  Why  should  I .'  I  know  well  enough  that  I 
have  not  done  my  duty  to  my  children — it  is  now  too  late  and  I 
do  not  care  to  be  made  to  sufter  unavailing  remorse  by  Mr. 
Moody's  sermon.  I  already  realize  those  dreadful  words,  "  too 
LATE !  "  But  Moody  seemed  to  realize  that  he  was  handling 
sore  hearts,  and  he  was  very  tender  of  them — none  the  less  force- 
ful, however,  in  appealing  to  the  parents  to  make  the  spiritual 
interests  of  their  children  a  matter  of  first  concern,  and  of  fre- 
quent conversation  with  them.  On  Wednesday  evening  occured 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  impressive  scenes  ever  beheld  in 
this  city.  The  occasion  was  a  meeting  for  young  men  and  boys. 
The  cars  were  full  of  young  men.  Every  way-station  furnished 
its  company  of  them.  A  snow  storm  was  driving  before  a  sharp 
wind,  which  only  seemed  to  make  it  more  pleasant  for  the 
nearty  fellows.  There  was  not  the  usual  play-ground  hilarity, 
out  they  were  as  cheerful  and  happy  as  they  could  be.  They 
filled  the  floor  of  the  Tabernacle  completely  full,  about  four 
thousand  of  them.  In  the  galleries  over  half  were  boys,  prob- 
ably six  thousand  young  men  altogether.  It  was  such  an  audi- 
ence as  was  never  before  seen  in  the  Northwest,  and  doubtful  if 
such  an  assemblage  ever  met  before  in  this  country.  Moody 
handled  them  admirably.  He  gave  them  a  sermon  on  '*  Decis- 
ion," taking  the  conflict  between  Elijah  and  the  Baal  prophets 
as  his  text.  "  If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow  him.  If  Baal  be  God, 
then  follow  him."     He  put  the  issue  with  startling  force,  as  well 


THE    GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  577 

as  with  perfect  simplicity.  Baal  hears  no  prayers ;  he  helps  no 
one,  living  or  dying  ;  but  if  he  is  God  then  let  us  be  manly 
enough  to  say  so.  If  we  have  no  souls,  but  die  like  dogs  in  the 
streets,  let  us  acknowledge  it  and  justify  our  living  like  dogs,  for 
present  pleasure,  for  mere  animal  existence  alone,  But  what 
docs  your  mother  think  about  that  i  And  then  he  touched  skil- 
fully the  boy's  love  for  his  mother,  and  the  mothers  prayers  for 
hei  boy.  The  kind  of  arguments  he  addressed  to  them  were, 
throughout,  such  as  would  appeal  most  strongly  to  the  better 
instincts  of  young  men.  He  said  that  if  the  Bible  were  true,  it 
could  not  have  been  written  by  bad  men.  If  false,  it  must  have 
been  written  by  liars.  But  would  bad  men  give  their  lives  to 
doing  good  and  trying  to  make  people  better  and  happier? 
That  Wednesday  night  meeting  will  be  talked  of  by  those  boys 
fifty  years  hence. 

Mr.  Morgan,  of  the  firm  of  Morgan  and  Scott,  publishers  of 
the  London  Christiati,  presented  an  address  to  Messrs.  Moody 
and  Sankey  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  English  evangelists  held  in 
London  a  day  or  two  prior  to  Mr.  Morgan's  departure  for 
America.  It  was  signed  by  about  fifty  persons,  among  whom 
were  Henry  Varley,  H,  Grattan  Guinness,  Reginald  Radcliffe, 
J.  E.  Matthieson  and  Dr.  Barnardo. 

Cases   of  Conscience. 

These  were  mentioned  in  the  sermon  on  the  text,  "  Their  rock 
is  not  as  our  Rock."  Some  of  you  remember  me  speaking  of  a 
man  who  came  in  here  who  was  a  fugitive  from  justice.  The 
Governor  of  the  State  from  which  he  came  had  offered  a  reward 
for  him,  and  he  came  into  this  Tabernacle.  He  received  Christ, 
and  returned  to  his  State.  This  morning  I  received  the  follow- 
ing letter : 

*'  Dear  Sir  and  Brother  — Owing  to  the  law's  slow  delay 
I  am  yet  a  prisoner  of  hope.  By  Thursday  or  Friday  my  case 
will  be  reached,  and  I'll  be  committed  to  the  Penitentiary,  for 
how  long  I  do  not  know.  This  condition  is  volunt.ary,  or  of 
my  own  seeking,  because  I  feel  it  due  the  cause  of  God,  or  the 
^5 


5 -8  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

only  evidence  I  can  give  of  my  repentance  and  desire  to  do 
better.  My  family  and  friends  hope  ultimately  to  obtain  a  par- 
don. I  desire  to  thank  you  for  the  interest  you  have  taken  in 
me,  and  I  ask  your  prayers,  and  those  of  God's  people  in  Chi- 
cago, that  I  may  have  strength  and  grace  to  live  under  these 
calamities  ;  that  my  poor  heart-broken  wife  and  children  may 
be  sustained  *  and,  further,  that  God's  blessing  may  rest  on  all 
efforts  being  made  for  my  future.  After  it  is  all  over,  and  I^am 
in  a  felon's  cell,  I'll  write  you.  In  your  efforts  to  warn  men  to 
do  better  and  lead  a  new  life,  bid  them  beware  of  ambition  to 
accomplish  an  undertaking  at  all  hazards.  Such  is  my  condi- 
tion. Had  I  left  off  speculation  in  an  invention  I  might  now 
be  happy.  Step  by  step  I  yielded  until  my  forgeries  reached 
over  thirty  thousand  dollars.  My  aim  was  not  to  defraud,  but 
to  succeed,  and  pay  it  all  back.  Oh,  pray  for  me — for  all  who 
suffer  with  me.  While  in  Chicago  I  was  under  an  assumed 
name.  Here  I  am,  in  my  native  village,  in  my  father's  home, 
a  prisoner,  not  daring  to  go  out,  or  even  to  see  my  children 
(we  have  three,  two  boys  and  one  girl).  I  hear  their  voices, 
and  when  they  sleep  I  silently  go  in  their  little  room  and  look 
at  them  in  innocent  slumber.  My  crimes  are  in  another  coun- 
ty, whither  I  go  Thursday.  May  our  heavenly  Father  bless 
your  labors.     Humbly  and  repentant,  I  am, 

To-morrow  probably  he  will  go  into  the  penitentiary  to  suffer 
for  his  crime,  but  now  his  Rock  is  our  Rock. 

One  week  ago  I  preached  on  the  text,  "  Christ  came  to  heal 
the  broken-hearted."  I  told  you  just  before  I  came  down  that 
I  had  received  a  letter  from  a  broken-hearted  wife.  Her  hus- 
band one  night  came  in,  to  her  surprise,  and  said  that  he  was  a  de- 
faulter and  must  Hy,  and  he  went,  she  knew  not  where.  He  for- 
sook her  and  two  children.  It  was  a  pitiful  letter,  and  the  wail 
of  that  poor  woman  seems  to  ring  in  my  ears  yet.  That  night 
up  in  that  gallery  was  a  man  whose  heart  began  to  beat  when  I 
told  the  story,  thinking  it  was  him  I  meant,  till  I  came  to  the 
two  children.     When  I  got  through  I  found  that  he  had  taken 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICACO.  579 

money  which  did  not  belong  to  him,  intcndin^^  to  replace  it,  but 
he  failed  to  do  so,  and  fled.  He  said  :  "  I  have  a  beautiful  wife 
and  three  children,  but  I  had  to  leave  her  and  come  to  Chicago, 
where  I  have  been  hiding.  The  Governor  of  the  State  has 
otTered  a  reward  for  me."  My  friends,  a  week  ago  this  poor 
fellow  found  out  the  truth  of  this  text.  He  was  in  great  agony. 
He  felt  as  if  he  could  not  carry  the  burden,  and  he  said,  "  Mr. 
Moody,  I  want  you  to  pray  with  me.  Ask  God  for  mercy  for 
me."  And  down  we  went  on  our  knees.  I  don't  know  if  ever 
I  felt  so  bad  for  a  man  in  my  life.  He  asked  me  if  I  thought 
he  should  go  back.  I  told  him  to  ask  the  Lord  and  we  prayed 
over  it.  That  was  Sunday  evening,  and  I  asked  him  to  meet 
me  on  the  Monday  evening.  He  told  me  how  hard  it  was  to  go 
back  to  that  town  and  give  himself  up,  and  disgrace  his  wife  and 
children.  They  would  give  him  ten  years.  Monday  came  and 
he  met  me  and  said,  "  Mr.  Moody,  I  have  prayed  over  this 
matter,  and  I  think  Christ  has  forgiven  me,  but  1  don't  belong 
to  myself  I  must  go  back  and  give  myself  up.  I  expect  to  be 
sent  to  the  Penitentiary  ;  but  I  must  go."  He  asked  me  to  pray 
for  his  wife  and  children,  and  he  went  off.  He  will  be  there 
now  in  the  hands  of  justice.  My  friends,  don't  say  the  way  of 
the  transgressor  is  not  hard.  It  is  hard  to  fight  against  sin,  but 
it  is  a  thousand  times  harder  to  die  without  hope.  Will  you  not 
just  accept  Christ  .-*  Take  Christ  as  your  hope,  your  life,  your 
truth. 

Last  week  a  beautiful-looking  young  man  came  into  tiic  in- 
quiry-room. He  had  been  brought  up  in  a  happy  home  with  a 
good  father  and  mother.  He  had  gone  astray.  When  he  came 
into  the  inquiry-room,  he  said  he  intended  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian, but  he  could  not  because  he  knew  what  it  would  make  him 
do.  He  had  robbed  an  express  company,  and  that  sin  came 
between  him  and  God.  He  had  been  heard  and  received  a  ver- 
dict in  his  favor,  but  he  knew  he  was  guilty.  He  had  gone  into 
the  witness  box  and  committed  perjury.  He  turned  away  and 
left  the  building.  Last  Friday,  however,  he  was  at  the  noonday 
meeting  ;  he  was  in  my  private  room  for  a  while,  and  1  never 
felt  so  much  pity  for  a  man  in  my  life.     He  wanted  to  become  a 


580  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Christian,  but  the  thought  of  having  to  go  back  and  tell  his 
father  that  he  was  guilty,  after  his  father  had  paid  two  thousand 
dollars  to  conduct  his  trial.  After  a  great  struggle  he  got  down  on 
his  knees  and  cried  out,  *'  O  God,  help  me  ;  forgive  me  my  sins  ;  " 
and  at  last  he  got  up  and  straightened  himself  and  said,  "  Well, 
sir,  I  will  go  back."  A  friend  went  down  to  the  railway  station 
and  saw  him  off,  and  shortly  after  I  got  this  dispatch  from  him 

"  Mr.  Moody  : — God  has  told  me  what  to  do.  The  future 
is  as  clear  as  crystal.     I  am  happier  than  ever  before." 

He  went  on  his  way,  reached  his  native  village,  and  I  re- 
ceived this  letter  from  him  this  morning,  and  I  have  felt  my 
soul  filled  with  sorrow  ever  since  it  came.  Let  me  say  here, 
if  there  is  any  one  in  this  hall,  who  has  taken  money  from  his 
employer,  go  and  tell  him  of  it  at  once.  It  is  a  good  deal 
better  for  you  to  confess  it  than  have  it  on  your  mind — than 
to  try  to  cover  it  up.  "  He  that  covereth  his  sins  shall  not 
prosper."  If  you  have  taken  any  money  that  doesn't  belong 
to  you,  make  restitution  by  confession  at  least.  If  any  one 
here  is  being  tempted  to  commit  a  forgery  or  any  crime,  let 
this  be  a  warning  to  them  : 

"  My  Beloved  Friend  and  BROT4HER  : — I  am  firm  in  the 
cause.  I  have  started,  and  feel  that  God  is  with  me  in  it. 
And,  oh,  dear  brother,  do  never  cease  praying  for  my  dear 
father  and  praying  mother,  and  I  wish  you  would  some  day 
write  them  and  tell  them  that  God  will  make  this  all  for  the 
best.  If  I  live  for  ages  I  will  never  cease  praying  for  them, 
and  I  never  can  forgive  myself  for  my  ungratefulness  to  my 
dear  broken-hearted  sisters  and  brothers  and  dear  good 
parents.  Oh,  that  link  that  held  the  once  happy  home  is  sev- 
ered. O  God!  may  it  not  be  forever.  Would  that  I  had 
been  a  Christian  for  life;  that  I  had  taken  my  mother's  hand 
when  a  child  and  walked  from  there,  hand  in  hand,  straight  to 
Heaven;  and  then  the  stains  would  not  have  been.  But  we 
know,  O  God,  that  they  can't  follow  me  into  Heaven,  for  then 
I  will  be  washed  of  all  my  sins,  and  the  things  that  are  on 
this  earth  will  stay  here. 

"  Oh,  my  dear  Christian  brother,  my  heart  almost  failed  me 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  581 

when  I  was  approaching  my  dear,  liappy  home,  and  the 
thouglit  that  I  was  the  one  out  of  eight  brothers  and  sisters  to 
break  the  chain  of  happiness  that  surrounded  that  once  happy 
and  beautiful  home,  which  is  now  shaded  with  misery,  and  the 
beautiful  sunshine  that  once  lit  that  happy,  that  dearest  of 
homes,  is  now  overshadowed  with  darkness.  Oh,  I  fear  it  will 
take  my  dear  parents ;  it  is  more  than  they  can  bear.  When 
I  reached  home,  and  they  all  greeted  me  with  a  kiss,  and  I 
told  them  I  had  started  for  Heaven,  and  God  sent  me  home 
to  tell  them,  my  mother  shed  tears  of  happiness,  and  when  I 
was  forced  to  bring  the  death-stroke  upon  her,  the  tears  ceased 
to  flow,  and  God  only  can  describe  the  scene  that  took  place. 
I  called  them  all  around  me,  and  I  thought  I  could  not  i)ray 
if  I  were  to  attempt  it.  But  when  I  knelt  with  them  in  prayer, 
God  just  told  me  what  to  say,  and  I  found  it  the  will  of  God; 
and  after  I  had  prayed,  I  kissed  them  all,  and  asked  their 
pardon  for  my  ungratefulness,  which  I  received  from  them  all. 
Then  I  made  my  preparations  to  leave  home,  for  how  long 
God  only  knows ;  but  I  got  grace  to  leave  in  a  cheerful  way, 
and  it  appeared  for  a  short  time ;  and  if  God  lets  me  live  to 
return  home,  I  will  join  my  mother's  side,  take  her  to  church, 
and  bring  my  brothers  and  sisters  and  father  to  God.  We 
will  all  go  to  Heaven  together.  My  beloved  brother,  I  must 
see  you  some  day,  and  just  tell  you  what  God  has  done  for  me, 
and  I  know  He  will  never  forsake  me,  when  I  am  shut  up  in 
those  prison  walls  for  a  crime  I  justly  deserve.  When  I  can't 
communicate  with  any  one  else,  I  know  I  will  not  be  shut  off 
from  God.     Oh,  glory  ! 

"  I  came  to  Gleveland  last  night,  and  was  going  to  get  that 
money  and  return  it  to  the  General  Superintendent,  but  my 
attorney  had  made  that  arrangement  already.  I  find  there  is 
an  indictment  at  Akron  against  me  now  for  perjury,  and  I  am 
going  to  take  the  morning  train  and  go  to  Akron.  Court  is 
in  progress  now,  and  I  am  going  to  ask  the  court  if  there  is 
an  indictment  against  me,  and  if  there  is,  1  will  hear  it  and 
then  plead  guilty.  I  will  write  again  soon,  and  give  you  all 
the  particulars,  and  the  length  of  my  sentence." 


587  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

I  want  to  urge  tliis  letter  upon  your  consideration  as  a 
warning.  Think  of  the  punishment  that  young  man  has 
brought  upon  himself;  think  of  the  agony  of  that  father  and 
mother  when  he  broke  the  news  to  them — when  he  told  them 
of  his  guilt.  His  "rock  was  not  as  our  Rock."  May  God 
bless  every  young  man  here,  and  may  they  be  brought  to  the 
acceptance  of  salvation.  May  they  turn  to  Thee,  God  of  their 
fathers  and  of  their  mothers,  so  that  they  can  say,  "  Your  Rock 
is  our  Rock — we  are  servants  of  God." 

Probably  every  man  who  has  an  ambition  to  be  a  useful  ser- 
vant of  Christ,  will  be  gratified  to  know  how  he  may  fulfil  the 
desire  of  his  heart,  and  will  welcome  any  facts  in  the  experience 
of  so  genuine  and  able  a  laborer  as  the  evangelist.  His  begin- 
nings and  progress  have  seemed  natural,  and  yet  in  the  order 
of  Divine  Providence.  They  were  so  humble  that  any  one  may 
aspire  to  some  measure  of  power,  who  earnestly  desires  it,  and 
allows  God  to  lead  him.     We  append  these  thrilling 

Personal  Reminiscences  of  Christian  Work. 

I  remember  a  good  many  years  ago  I  resolved  I  wouldn't  let 
a  day  pass  without  talking  to  some  one  about  their  soul's  salva- 
tion. And  it  was  in  that  school  God  qualified  me  to  speak  the 
Gospel.  If  we  are  faithful  over  small  things,  God  will  promote 
us.  If  God  says,  "  Speak  to  that  young  man,"  obey  the  word  ; 
and  you  will  be  given  by  and  by  plenty  of  souls.  I  went  down 
past  the  corner  of  Clark  and  Lake  streets  one  day,  and,  fulfilling 
my  vow,  on  seeing  a  man  leaning  up  against  a  lamp-post,  I  went 
up  and  said,  "  Are  you  a  Christian  ?  "  He  damned  me  and  cursed 
me,  and  said  to  mind  my  own  business.  He  knew  me.  but  I 
didn't  know  him.  He  said  to  a  friend  of  his  that  afternoon 
that  he  had  never  been  so  insulted  in  his  life,  and  told  him  to 
say  to  me  that  I  was  damning  the  cause  I  pretended  to  repre- 
sent. Well,  the  friend  came  and  delivered  the  message. 
"  May  be  I  am  doing  more  hurt  than  good,"  I  said;  "may  be 
I'm  mistaken,  and  God  hasn't  shown  me  the  right  way."  That 
was  the  time  I  was  sleeping  and  living  in  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  rooms,  where  I  was  then  president,  secre- 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  583 

tnry,  janitor,  and  everything  else.  Well,  one  night  after  mid- 
night i  heard  a  knock  at  the  door.  And  there  on  the  step  lend- 
ing into  the  street,  stood  this  stranger  I  had  made  so  mad  at 
the  lamp-post,  and  he  said  he  wanted  to  talk  to  me  about  his 
soul's  salvation.  He  said,  "Do  you  remember  the  man  you 
met  about  three  months  ago  at  a  lamp-post,  and  how  he  cursed 
you?  I  have  had  no  peace  since  that  night ;  I  couldn't  sleep. 
Oh,  tell  me  what  to  do  to  be  saved."  Ancl  we  just  fell  down  on 
our  knees,  and  I  prayed  ;  and  that  day  he  went  to  the  noon 
prayer-meeting  and  openly  confessed  the  Saviour,  and  soon 
after  went  to  the  war  a  Christian  man.  I  do  not  know  but  he 
died  on  some  Southern  battle-field,  or  in  a  hospital,  but  I  expect 
to  see  him  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Oh,  how  often  have  I 
thanked  God  for  that  word  to  that  dying  sinner  that  He  put 
into  my  mouth  ! 

And  I  have  just  been  engaged  in  this  personal  work  all  my 
life.  God's  business  is  not  to  be  done  wholesale.  Think  of 
the  Master  Himself  talking  just  to  Nicodemus  ;  and  then  how 
He  talked  to  that  poor  woman  at  the  well  of  Samaria.  Christ's 
greatest  utterances  were  delivered  to  congregations  of  one  or 
two.  How  many  are  willing  to  speak  to  tens  of  thousands,  but 
not  to  speak  to  a  few.  I  knew  a  man  who  was  going  to  get 
rich  and  do  large  things  for  God,  but  he  never  did  anything  ; 
he  wouldn't  do  little  things — that  was  the  secret.  Oh,  be  will- 
ing. Christians,  to  be  built  into  the  temple,  as  a  polished  cap- 
stone, or  just  a  single  brick — no  matter  just  how,  but  some- 
how. Say  to  yourselves  in  your  homes,  in  your  Sunday-school 
classes,  in  your  daily  rounds,  "  I'll  not  let  this  sun  go  down, 
till  I  lead  one  soul  to  Christ."  And  then,  having  done  all, 
shall  you  shine  as  gems  in  the  great  white  throne  forever  and 
ever. 

I  want  to  tell  you  how  I  got  the  first  impulse  to  work  solely 
for  the  conversion  of  men.  For  a  long  time  after  my  conversion 
I  didn't  accomplish  anything.  I  hadn't  got  into  my  right  place, 
that  was  it.  I  hadn't  thought  enough  of  this  personal  work. 
I'd  get  up  in  prayer-meeting,  and  I'd  pray  with  the  others,  but 
just  to  go  up  to  a  man  and  take  hold  of  his  coat  and  get  him 


584  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

down  on  his  knees,  I  hadn't  yet  got  round  to  that.  It  was  in 
i860  the  change  came.  In  the  Sunday-school  I  had  a  pale, 
delicate  youno[  man  as  one  of  the  teachers.  I  knew  his  burning 
piety,  and  assigned  him  to  the  worst  class  in  the  school.  They 
were  all  girls,  and  it  was  an  awful  class.  They  kept  gadding 
around  in  the  school-room,  and  were  laughing  and  carrying  on 
all  the  while.  And  this  young  man  had  better  success  than  any 
one  else.  One  Sunday  he  was  absent,  and  I  tried  myself  to 
teach  the  class,  but  couldn't  do  anything  with  them  ;  they 
seemed  farther  off  than  ever  from  any  concern  about  their  souls. 
Well,  the  day  after  his  absence,  early  Monday  morning,  the 
young  man  came  into  the  store  where  I  worked,  and,  tottering 
and  bloodless,  threw  himself  down  on  some  boxes.  "  What's 
the  matter  .?  "  I  said.  "  I  have  been  bleeding  at  the  lungs,  and 
they  have  given  me  up  to  die,"  he  said.  "■  But  you  are  not 
afraid  to  die  ?  "  I  questioned.  "  No,"  said  he,  "  I  am  not  afraid 
to  die,  but  I  have  got  to  stand  before  God  and  give  an  account 
of  my  stewardship,  and  not  one  of  my  Sabbath-school  scholars 
has  been  brought  to  Jesus.  I  have  failed  to  bring  one,  and 
haven't  any  strength  to  do  it  now."  He  was  so  weighed  down 
that  I  got  a  carriage  and  took  that  dying  man  in  it,  and  we 
called  at  the  homes  of  every  one  of  his  scholars,  and  to  each 
one  he  said,  as  best  his  faint  voice  would  let  him,  ''I  have  come 
to  just  ask  you  to  come  to  the  Saviour,"  and  then  he  prayed  as 
I  never  heard  before.  And  for  ten  days  he  labored  in  that 
way,  sometimes  walking  to  the  nearest  houses ;  and  at  the  end 
of  that  ten  days  every  one  of  that  large  class  had  yielded  to  the 
Saviour.  Full  well  I  remember  the  night  before  he  went  away 
(for  the  doctors  had  said  he  must  hurry  to  the  South),  how  we 
held  a  true  love-feast.  It  was  the  very  gate  of  heaven,  that 
meeting.  He  prayed  and  they  prayed  ;  he  didn't  ask  them,  he 
didn't  think  they  could  pray  ;  and  then  we  sang  ''  Blest  be  the 
tie  that  binds."  It  was  a  beautiful  night  in  June  that  he  left 
on  the  Michigan  Southern,  and  I  was  down  to  the  train  to  help 
him  off.  And  those  girls,  every  one,  gathered  there  again,  all 
unknown  to  each  other  ;  and  the  depot  seemed  a  second  gate 
to  heaven,  in  the  joyful,  yet  tearful,  communion  and   farewells 


THE    GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  585 

between  tliesc  ncwly-reclcciiicd  souls  and  him  wliose  crown  of 
rejoicing  it  will  be  that  he  led  thera  to  Jesus.  At  last  the  gong 
sounded,  and,  supported  on  the  platform,  the  dying  man  shook 
liands  with  each  one  and  whispered,  "I  will  meet  j'ou  yonder." 
Some  of  the  very  best,  most  constant  teachers  I  had,  before 
going  to  Europe,  were  converted  at  that  time,  and  they  in  their 
turn  have  gathered  many  sheaves,  and  I  myself  was  led  by  this 
incident — this  wonderful  blessing  of  God  on  individual  effort— 
to  throw  up  my  business  and  give  my  whole  strength  to  God's 
work. 

Shall  not  that  young  man  have  a  high  place,  a  place  very 
near  the  Saviour  of  men,  in  the  day  when  He  makes  up  His 
jewels.-*  Oh,  friends,  if  you  want  to  shine  in  the  kingdom  of 
God,  work  for  Him  to-day.  Shall  not  every  one  go  out  of  this 
building  saying,  "  I  will  try  to  bring  one  soul  to  Christ  to-day  ? " 

But  let  me  say  a  few  words  to  church  members.  I've  a  good 
deal  more  I  would  like  to  say  to  young  converts,  but  you  know 
time  presses.  I  want  to  say  to  the  ministers,  church  stewards, 
or  deacons  or  wardens,  if  you  expect  the  converts  to  come  you 
must  give  them  a  good  warm  grasp  of  the  hand.  A  man 
preached  upon  the  subject  of  recognizing  converts  in  heaven, 
and  one  of  his  hearers  recommended  that  he  preach  the  next 
Sunday  upon  recognizing  converts  on  earth.  If  these  converts 
come  into  church  let  all  connected  with  it  give  them  a  warm 
grasp  of  the  hand.  I'll  never  forget  the  first  prayer  meeting  I 
attended  in  Chicago.  I  came  into  the  city  a  perfect  stranger, 
and  I  went  into  the  Second  Baptist  church,  where  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  is  now.  I  had  been  converted  a  few  months,  and 
I  felt  rather  timid,  but  I  thought  I  would  get  up  and  say  some- 
thing. When  I  finished,  a  gentleman  came  up  and  grasped  my 
hand  and  said,  "  God  bless  you,"'  and  then  Mrs.  Phillips  came 
to  me  and  gave  rne  her  hand,  and  a  blessing,  and  asked  me 
home,  and  that  was  the  first  home  I  entered  in  Chicago.  I  had 
belonged  to  the  Congregational'  church,  but  I  found  that  Baptist 
church  very  dear  to  me.  I  found  my  wife  there,  and  very  dear 
that  spot  became  to  me.  Now  let  that  young  man  go  up  to  the 
Second  Presbyterian  church,  and  let  Judge  Skinner  or  some 


586  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Other  member  take  him  by  the  hand  ;  he  will  feel  at  home  there. 
He'll  say,  "  That's  the  place  for  me."  Let  any  one  go  to  the 
Methodist  church,  the  Presbyterian  or  Baptist  churches,  and 
they  will  remain.  That  shake  of  the  hand  did  me  more  good 
than  five  sermons.  I  was  lonesome  in  the  city.  I  had  no  friend  ; 
I  wanted  some  one  to  take  me  by  the  hand. 

Old  Farwell  Hall. 

The  last  time  I  preached  upon  this  question  was  in  old 
Farwell  Hall.  I  had  been  for  five  nights  preaching  upon  the 
life  of  Christ,  I  took  him  from  the  cradle  and  followed  him  up 
to  the  point  in  the  judgment  hall,  and  on  that  occasion  I  con- 
sider I  made  as  great  a  blunder  as  ever  I  made  in  my  life.  If 
I  could  recall  my  act  I  would  give  Ibis  right  hand.  It  was 
upon  that  memorable  night  in  October,  and  the  Court  House 
bell  was  sounding  an  alarm  of  fire  but  I  paid  no  attention  to  it. 
You  know  we  were  accustomed  to  hear  the  fire  bell  often,  and 
it  didn't  disturb  us  much  when  it  sounded.  I  finished  the  ser- 
mon upon  "  What  shall  I  do  with  Jesus  }  "  and  I  said  to  the  au- 
dience, "  Now,  I  want  you  to  take  the  question  with  you,  think 
over  it,  and  next  Sunday  I  want  you  to  come  back  and  tell  me 
what  you  are  going  to  do  with  it."  What  a  mistake  !  It  seems 
now  as  if  Satan  was  in  my  mind  when  I  said  this.  Since  then 
I  never  have  dared  give  an  audience  a  week  to  think  of  their 
salvation.  If  they  were  lost  they  might  rise  up  in  judgment 
against  me.  "  Now  is  the  accepted  time."  W^e  went  down 
stairs  to  the  other  meeting,  and  I  remember  what  Mr.  Sankey 
was  singing,  and  how  his  voice  rang  when  he  came  to  that 
pleading  verse  : 

To-day  the  Saviour  calls  : 

For  refuge  fly, 
The  storm  of  justice  falls. 

And  death  is  nigh. 

After  the  meeting  we  went  home.  I  remember  going  down 
La  Salle  street  with  a  young  man  who  is  probably  in  the  hall 
to-night,  and  saw  the  glare  of  the  flames.     I  said  to  the  young 


THE   GOSPIiL    IN    CHICACJC).  587 

man:  "This  means  ruin  to  Chicago."  About  one  o'clock 
Farvvell  Hall  went  ;  soon  the  church  in  which  I  had  preached 
went  down,  and  everything  was  scattered.  I  never  saw  that 
audience  again. 

The  Christian  Convention. 

In  connection  with  his  services  in  other  places,  we  have  seen 
Mr.  Moody  gathering  the  pastors  and  leading  workers  from  the 
adjoining  regions  round  about,  to  gain  instruction  and  stimulus 
for  the  Lord's  work.  Accordingly  Chicago  calls  a  convention 
for  a  three  days'  session,  to  begin  on  November  21st. 

Several  thousand  assembled  and  enjoyed  many  meetings  of 
great  power  and  preciousness.  The  general  topics  were  very 
similar  to  those  fully  discussed  in  New  York,  of  which  a  copious 
report  is  given  in  the  chapter  on  the  sermons  in  the  Hippo- 
drome. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  Mr.  Moody  advanced  many 
good  ideas,  some  that  were  crude,  and  little  that  was  new.  His 
peculiarly  fresh  and  emphatic  way  of  putting  things  gave  the 
occasion  its  chief  value. 

One  session  was  occupied  with  impromptu  answers  to  wTitten 
questions  handed  to  him.  His  ready  tact  and  quick  wit  made 
this  the  most  enjoyable,  if  not  the  most  profitable  feature  of  the 
convention.  His  answers  were  sometimes  so  pat  as  fairly  "  to 
bring  down  the  house."     Here  are  a  few  plums  : 

Why  do  evangelists  know  so  little  about  science  ?  Because 
they've  got  something  a  great  deal  belter. 

What  shall  be  done  with  dancing  Christians?  Give  them 
something  better  to  do.  If  there  is  a  dancing  Christian  in  the 
house,  and  his  conscience  troubles  him,  just  give  Christ  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt. 

Why  should  old  hymns,  rich  in  sentiment,  be  displaced  by 
such  as  ''  Hold  the  Fort  ?  "  We  don't  want  them  displaced.  We 
want  them  all.  There  is  no  reason  why  we  shouldn't  have  new 
hymns.  I  like  my  wife  better  than  anybody  else.  That  is  no 
reason  why  I  should  want  to  be  with  her  all  the  lime,  and  never 
see  anybody  else. 


588  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

How  would  you  teach  a  Christian  to  work  ?  Teach  him  by 
example.  I  want  to  say  to  those  young  converts,  maintain  the 
church.  One  of  them  was  saying  the  other  day  that  he  could 
get  along  without  joining  the  church,  that  Mr.  Moody  did  not 
belong  to  any  church.  Now  I  want  to  say  the  first  thing  I  did 
after  I  was  converted  was  to  try  to  get  into  the  church.  They 
would  not  have  me,  because  they  thought  I  was  not  converted  ; 
but  I  tried  again  and  again,  till  1  got  in.  Don't  stand  outside 
of  the  church. 

May  the  penitent  inquirer  be  told  that  he  is  pardoned  ?  Let 
God  tell  him  that. 

Is  there  any  way  of  reaching  the  masses  while  the  system  of 
pew-renting  prevails  in  our  churches  ?  A  quickened  church 
reaches  the  masses,  pews  or  no  pews.  A  dead  church  is  dead 
whether  its  pews  are  free  or  rented.  The  pews  have  not  much 
to  do  with  it.  Sometimes  I  think  that  five  minutes' talking  to 
a  man  or  woman  will  do  them  more  good  than  any  sermon. 

Opposition   and   Mr.  Moody's  Good  Nature. 

There  was  the  usual  amount  of  criticism  by  pulpit,  and  indi- 
viduals in  the  press  ;  but  our  earnest  brother  treated  all  men 
handsomely,  though  he  spared  no  man's  errors.     Said  he  : 

Those  people  remind  me  of  a  man  who  used  to  talk  against 
our  meetings  in  another  city.  He  never  came  near  them  him- 
self, but  only  condemned  them  from  hearsay.  You  will  gener- 
ally find  that  the  people  who  have  the  most  to  say  against  these 
revival  meetings  are  the  people  who  don't  know  anything  at  all 
about  them.  No  man  in  his  senses  can  come  to  these  inquiry- 
rooms  and  see  these  drunkards  and  gamblers  and  harlots  coming 
to  Christ  and  beguining  a  Christian  life,  and  then  speak  evil  of 
the  work  that  is  now  going  forward.  But  I  was  going  to  tell 
you  about  that  man.  He  had  a  son,  an  only  son,  I  think,  who 
was  very  often  brought  home  at  night  drunk.  One  night  this 
young  man  came  to  our  meetings,  where  he  was  converted,  and 
he  went  home  and  told  his  father  that  he  had  become  a  Chris- 
tian. The  father  couldn't  believe  it  at  first,  and  thought  be- 
cause the  boy  had  got  religion  it   would   all  be  over  in  a  little 


THE   GOSPEL   IN   CHICAGO.  ^S(j 

while.  But  the  boy  held  out  one  week,  and  another  and  another, 
and  at  last  the  father  came  to  me  and  said,  "  Mr.  Moody,  I 
want  you  to  forgive  me." 

"  Forgive  you?     Why  I  never  saw  you  before." 

"True,  but  I  have  been  talking  against  you  and  your  meet- 
ings, and  now  that  my  son  has  been  converted  here  I  want 
you  to  forgive  me  for  having  said  anything  against  this  work 
of  the  Lord." 

The  venerable  Thurlow  Weed  tells  a  story  of  the  preacher's 
self-control: 

This  occurred  last  winter  at  the  hippodrome.  It  was  at  the 
evening  service.  The  house  was  densely  (and  when  was  it 
otherwise  ?)  filled.  Five  or  six  thousand  faces  and  twice  as 
many  ears  were  looking  and  listening  to  Mr.  Moody.  An  im- 
passioned and  eloquent  portion  of  his  sermon  was  interrupted 
by  the  loud  crying  of  an  infant.  IMr.  Moody  paused,  and  turn- 
ing to  those  sitting  near  him,  entered  into  conversation  with 
them.  The  mother  soon  succeeded  in  quieting  the  child,  when 
Mr.  Moody  with  a  cheerful  expression  of  countenance  resumed  ; 
but  not  more  than  five  minutes  elapsed  before  a  louder  wail  was 
heard.  Mr.  Moody  again  paused  and  again  entered  into  con- 
versation until  the  mother  a  second  time  succeeded  in  quieting 
her  child.  In  the  course  of  a  few  minutes,  however,  the  baby's 
voice  was  heard  for  a  third  time,  the  mother  and  father  simul- 
taneously rising,  with  the  evident  intention  to  depart.  That 
seemed  an  almost  hopeless  undertaking,  for  they  were  seated  in 
the  centre  of  the  immense  audience.  The  parents  succeeded 
however,  in  reaching  the  middle  aisle.  Mr.  Moody,  meanwhile, 
stood,  encouraging  them  with  a  benignant  smile.  Their  nearest 
way  out  was  by  a  side  door.  There  was  almost  breathless 
silence  as  they  passed  down  the  middle  aisle.  When  near  the 
preacher  he  exclaimed  ;  "  God  bless  that  mother.  I  wish  there 
were  many  more  Christian  mothers  possessing  the  courage  to 
bring  their  children  to  church  when  they  cannot  leave  them 
safely  at  home."  The  effect  was  electrical.  A  sense  of  relief 
was  felt  throughout  the  house.  That  mother's  heart  was  not 
the  only  one  that  thanked  Mr.   Moody  for  a  seasonable  m;jni- 


590 


MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 


festation  of  sense  and  sympathy,  which  did  equal  credit  to  his 
head  and  heart. 

On  another  occasion  :  a  lady  availed  herself  of  her  preroga- 
tive, and  swooned  away.  There  was  a  general  straining  of 
necks,  and  Mr.  Moody  said :  "  If  you  turn  around  in  that  way. 
I  cannot  preach  to  the  back  of  your  heads.  If  some  one  faints 
away,  we  cannot  help  that.  Six  or  eight  thousand  people  can- 
not help  one.  We  have  ushers  here,  and  if  any  of  you  faint  you 
will  be  carried  out  and  treated  kindly. 

Mr.  Moody  again  referred  to  the  mothers  who  bring  their 
babies  to  the  meeting,  saying  that  he  was  glad  to  see  them  ; 
for  those  mothers  who  had  no  servants  to  leave  their  children 
with  were  too  much  deprived  of  the  usual  church  services 
through  fear  of  annoying  the  minister  and  congregation.  He 
related  a  pleasant  incident  of  a  woman  who  came  to  his  old 
North  Side  church  bringing  her  baby,  whom  he  welcomed  and 
told  that  she  was  to  take  the  sermon  all  to  herself,  and  find 
Christ  that  very  night.  To  his  surprise  she  actually  was  blessed 
and  saved  during  that  very  sermon,  and  afterwards  brought  her 
husband  and  two  other  persons  who  boarded  in  the  family,  all 
of  whom  were  speedily  brought  to  Christ. 

"■  A  sinful  girl "  wrote  him  a  letter  complaining  that  her  class 
were  neglected.  He  at  once  had  a  service  for  them  and  preached 
with  tenderness  and  power  to  the  vast  throng,  among  whom 
were  large  numbers  of  the  fallen.     Accordingly : 

Some  of  the  noblest  Christian  ladies  went  to  houses  of  pros- 
titution, entreating  the  inmates  to  seek  a  better  life ;  and  when 
they  succeeded  in  getting  the  poor  creatures  to  go  to  the  revival 
meetings  they  have  taken  them  to  the  inquiry-rooms,  and  gath- 
ered about  them,  praying  for  them  with  all  the  tenderness  and 
earnestness  of  Christly  sisterhood.  When  these  outcasts  who 
have  fallen  into  the  mire  through  the  lusts  of  men,  and  whom 
hardly  a  man  will  trust  with  the  keeping  of  his  home,  no  matter 
how  bitterly  they  repent,  and  though  he  be  as  guilty  as  they, — 
when  they  give  themselves  to  the  Saviour  for  a  new  start  in  life 
these  Christian  women  take  them  to  their  homes  and  guard 
them  as  if  they  were  their  own  children,  till  a  permanent  place 


THE   GOSPEL    IN   CHICAGO.  59 1 

is  found  for  them.  And,  after  all,  this  is  their  reasonable  serv- 
ice as  certainly  as  caring  for  drunkards,  as  they  have  been 
doing  for  two  or  three  years  past.  Probably  very  few  men  go 
into  the  depths  of  drunken  debaucheries  without  also  falling 
into  the  slums  of  licentiousness.  And*  how  much  belter  is  a 
fallen  man  than  a  fallen  woman? 

The  record  of  these  few  weeks'  work  can  only  be  hinted  at  in 
the  public  prints,  but  it  cannot  soon  be  forgotten  by  the  recipi- 
ents of  the  sweet  grace  of  charity,  nor  by  the  Lord  of  the  pen- 
itent and  sorrowing. 

One  German  woman,  a  plain,  simple  body,  who  makes  her 
report  in  mutilated  English,  has,  from  her  scant  means,  sent  six 
poor,  straying  girls  to  their  friends  in  the  country. 

Hardly  a  day  passes  without  bringing  prostitutes  to  the 
inquiry-rooms  to  lead  a  better  life.  It  would  be  a  wholesome 
lesson  for  careless  young  girls  who  want  to  put  on  fine  ladies' 
gear  without  honestly  earning  it,  if  they  could  look  into  the 
faces  of  these  wretched  women. 

Said  a  lady  in  her  report :  "  I  followed  one  out  of  the  gallery 
and  for  some  distance  before  1  could  prevail  upon  her  to  go  to 
the  inquiry-room.  She  turned  upon  me  like  a  hunted  wild 
creature.  I  never  shall  forget  the  scared,  despairing  look  of 
her  face."  Another  sat  like  a  statue  while  the  women  gathered 
about  her  and  tried  to  encourage  her  to  come  to  Christ.  A 
lady  took  her  hand  and  said:  "I'm  glad  you're  here.  We'll 
help  you  find  our  Saviour,  and  you  can  be  at  peace  once  more." 
With  a  stony,  hopeless  look  in  her  large,  tearless  eyes,  the  poor 
thing  said,  "  U  I  say  I'll  leave  my  bad  ways,  you'll  none  of  you 
believe  me." 

One  poor  girl  in  the  inquiry-room  sobbed  out  in  her  prayer, 
"  O  God,  do  give  me  some  place  to  go,  so  I  can  leave  this  dread- 
ftil  life." 

Many  letters  have  been  received  from  parents  whose  daugh- 
ters have  been  lost  in  these  haunts  of  infamy.  The  ladies  have 
instituted  search,  and  some  have  been  found  living  under 
assumed  names.     A  number  of  ladies  have  opened  their  homes 


592  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

to  these  rescued  women,  taking  care  of  them  till  they  can  be 
sent  to  their  friends,  or  helped  into  a  new  way  of  living. 

The  Reiuge  on  the  South  Side  is  full,  and  a  call  has  been 
made  for  bedding  to  supply  the  added  need  occasioned  by  the 
effort  to  reform. 

Among  the  meetings  for  various  classes  there  were  stirring 
ones  by  various  business  houses. 

The  employees  of  the  great  dry  goods  house  of  Field,  Leiter 
&  Co.  held  a  most  interesting  service  in  Lower  Farwell  Hall, 
presided  over  by  Mr.  H.  J.  Willing,  a  member  of  the  firm,  with 
Mr.  Lansing,  of  the  upholstery  department,  at  the  organ.  There 
were  nearly  four  hundred  present,  quite  a  church  in  itself  The 
subject  was  the  third  chapter  of  John.  Several  spoke,  putting 
the  doctrine  of  Christ's  dying  in  the  sinner's  stead  in  quite  a 
business-like,  simple,  yet  very  effective  way.  Mr.  Henry  Field 
advised  all  present  to  feed  on  the  word  of  God  as  the  safest  and 
most  effectual  way  to  stand  firm  and  become  strong  Christians. 
Messrs.  Field  and  Willing  offered  prayer,  and  a  very  large 
number  gave  short  testimony.  On  a  call  for  Christians  to  rise, 
the  great  majority  of  those  present  responded.  Another  call 
for  those  who  desired  to  become  Christians  was  made,  and  the 
majority  of  those  who  had  remained  sitting  arose.  At  the  close 
there  was  an  inquiry  meeting,  which  continued  over  an  hour. 
The  inquirers  were  instructed  by  some  of  the  more  experienced 
Christian  employees  and  members  of  the  firm. 

At  a  young  men's  meeting :  One  man  said  he  had  long 
been  a  professing  Christian,  but  was  dead  and  cold  and  had 
no  enjoyment.  He  had  become  interested  in  the  meetings 
and  felt  like  working  for  the  Master,  and  was  really  happy. 
Another  said  he  was  converted  twenty-four  hours  before. 
He  was  a  wholly  changed  man.  Another  said  he  was  con- 
verted Sunday  night,  and  he  couldn't  get  home  quick  enough 
to  rejoice  his  wife's  heart  by  telling  her  of  his  conversion. 
When  he  had  told  her  he  had  to  wake  his  mother  up  and  tell 
her  the  good  news  Another  said  he  was  unable  to  give  ex- 
pression to  his  gratitude  to  God  for  what  He  had  done  for 
him. 


THE    GOSPEL   IN    CHICAGO.  593 

Mr.  William  Terrencc,  of  (ilasgow,  the  "Willie  "  whose  re- 
turn from  the  land  of  swine  and  husks  has  attracted  some 
notice,  said  that  if  any  one  had  occasion  to  give  thanks  to 
God,  he  was  the  man.  Since  his  conversion  he  was  perfectly 
happy.  He  had  devoted  himself  to  the  service  of  God.  He 
was  anxious  to  work  for  others.  He  thanked  God  that  he 
had  been  used  a  little  already.  He  had  been  at  Dwight  with 
Mr.  Latimer. 

Mr.  Baxter  said  he  began  to  drink  at  the  age  of  thirteen, 
and  for  the  last  five  years  he  had  been  a  hard  drinker.  Four 
weeks  ago  he  went  into  the  Tabernacle  too  drunk  to  pay  much 
attention  to  the  sermon,  but  the  hymn  "Watching  and  Wait- 
ing," roused  him  from  his  stupor.  He  thought  of  his  mother 
watching  and  waiting  for  him  in  heaven.  Two  days  later  he 
went  to  Farwell  Hall  and  there  accepted  Christ  as  his  Saviour. 
Since  that  time  he  had  had  no  appetite  for  drink,  Christ  had 
done  for  him  what  no  pledge  or  society  for  reformation  could 
have  done.  Mr.  Sawyer  offered  prayer.  Another  man  said 
he  had  always  believed  in  God,  but  never  in  a  divine  or  risen 
Jesus  Christ.  He  had  been  a  reader  of  Paine  and  Voltaire. 
He  had  been  converted  through  the  prayers  offered  for  him 
at  the  noon  prayer-meeting.  He  now  read  the  Bible  prayer- 
fully and  for  instruction. 

Another  man  had  been  an  infidel.  For  eight  years  he  had 
scoffed  at  religion.  Went  to  the  meetings  to  scoff  at  them, 
but  Mr.  Sankey  sang  the  "  Ninety  and  Nine,"  and  that  some- 
how fastened  the  arrow  of  conviction  in  his  heart,  and  he  was 
finally  enabled  to  trust  in  Christ. 

"How  many  men  are  there  here  who  used  to  be  infidels  be- 
fore they  were  converted  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Moody.  About  twenty 
rose  in  answer  to  this  question.  "There,"  said  he,  "that 
shows  that  infidels  can  be  converted.  I  have  got  some  very 
r.ngry  letters  from  infidels.  I  got  one  from  an  infidel  in  Bos- 
ton, the  other  day,  accusing  me  of  being  a  liar,  because  I  said 
infidels  were  converted  in  these  meetings.  That  man  said  it 
was  no  such  thing.  Now  this  man  is  just  the  one  to  talk  to 
infidels." 


594  MOODY   AND   SANKEY   IN   AMERICA. 

Mr.  Moody  read  the  following  : 

Chicago,  Nov.  27. — Afr.  Moody.  Mr.  James  Allen,  Scotch- 
man, of  Glasgow,  was  brought  into  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Meeting  by  a  fellow-boarder,  about  three  weeks 
since.  He  was  intoxicated.  The  next  day  he  signed  the 
ple<ige.  Two  weeks  ago  Sunday  night  he  accepted  Christ  at 
the  evening  Tabernacle  meeting,  and  since  has  been  rejoicing 
in  Christ.  Last  night  he  perished  in  the  Madison  street  fire, 
probably  trying  to  save  the  women  who  also  perished.  We 
find  that  he  aroused  the  landlord,  who  escaped,  and  he,  too, 
no  doubt,  could  have  escaped  when  he  aroused  the  landlord. 
His  wife  and  little  ones  live  in  Boston,  and  do  not  know  of 
his  death.  He  sent  a  message  to  you  on  Friday,  which  I  re- 
ceived this  morning,  to  please  have  Mr.  Moody  seek  out  his 
wife  and  try  to  bring  her  to  Christ.  She  lives  near  the  Tab- 
ernacle being  built  in  Boston.     Please  pray  for  this  family. 

Almost  his  first  words  the  night  he  came  to  Christ,  were  in 
substance,  "I  don't  know  what  might  happen,  and  I  would  like 
to  be  ready.     I  want  to  settle  it  to-night." 

Mr.  Price,  of  Hooley's  minstrels,  whose  superb  tenor  is  heard 
supporting  Sankey  and  Stebbins,  was  drawn  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
rooms,  by  witnessing  the  pluck  of  a  yoke-fellow,  who  was  dis- 
tributing invitations  at  the  door  of  Hooley's  theatre.  The  spec- 
tacle of  a  man  standing  curses  and  blows,  being  knocked  down 
and  then  dragged  across  the  street,  and  yet  always  returning  to 
his  post  for  the  sake  of  handing  out  a  few  more  printed  slips 
of  paper,  was  enough  of  a  novelty  to  attract  him  with  some  forty 
others,  over  to  the  rooms  where  he  was  converted. 

The  attention  of  Tony  Delight,  the  barber  whose  conversion 
was  reported,  was  first  arrested  one  stormy  night,  the  night 
Grimwood  was  lost  in  the  balloon,  a  terrible  night  in  Chicago, 
when  the  gamblers  turned  pale  with  affright  at  the  thunder,  and 
stopped  playing.  The  testimony  of  the  angry  elements  to  tlie 
existence  of  God,  was  shortly  followed  by  the  lisped  entreaties 
of  a  dying  child,  that  he  should  meet  her  in  glory. 

I  know  what  I  am  talking  about.  People  will  go  to  Farwell 
Hall  to  hear   the  gospel  preached.     I  know  a  man  who  had 


THE    GOSPEI-    IN    CHICAGO.  595 

been  livinp:  in  a  saloon,  who  wns  led  to  go  to  Farwell  Hall  by 
one  of  the  dodgers  we  distributed  on  the  street.  He  was  con- 
verted, and  told  me  a  singular  story.  His  father  was  a  very  in- 
temperate man,  and  left  his  wife  and  two  daughters  in  Scotland, 
and  came  to  America  with  his  little  boy,  thinking  in  a  new  place 
he  could  reform.  A  man  needn't  leave  Scotland  and  come  to 
Americn  to  get  away  from  the  devil.  The  very  day  they  landed 
here  the  father  got  drunk,  lost  his  son,  and  they  never  met  again. 
The  boy  was  bound  out,  ran  away,  became  a  sailor,  and  turned 
up  here.  After  his  conversion  he  prayed  God  to  put  him  in  the 
way  of  finding  his  mother,  and  while  on  his  knees  God  put  it 
into  his  mind  to  write  to  the  man  in  Massachusetts,  to  whom 
he  was  bound  out.  In  reply  he  got  a  letter  from  his  mother 
that  had  been  waiting  for  him  for  several  years.  Five  years  ago 
his  mother  and  two  sisters  arrived  here.  That  man  became  a 
lake  captain,  and  has  led  many  to  Christ.  One  of  the  sisters 
is  in  the  Tabernacle.  I  could  give  you  other  instances  all 
night,  of  what  the  association  has  done.  If  it  hadn't  been  for 
the  association,  there  would  have  been  no  Whittle,  or  Bliss,  or 
Morton,  or  Rockwell,  or  Cole,  or  Sankey,  or  Moody.  Let  us 
pray  that  it  may  be  a  beacon  of  light  to  guide  many  souls  into 
the  desired  haven. 

Among  the  inquirers  at  the  Tabernacle  one  evening  about 
two  weeks  since  was  a  young  woman  about  sixteen  years  old, 
who  for  five  years  has  been  employed  in  the  work-room  of  one 
of  the  largest  wholesale  dry-goods  houses  in  Chicago.  Mrs.  T. 
\V.  Harvey  entered  into  conversation  with  her,  and  was  amazed 
to  hear  her  say  :  "  I  never  heard  the  name  of  Christ  until  I 
heard  it  at  these  meetings.  None  of  our  family  ever  went  to 
church,  but  I  came  to  hear  Mr.  Moody,  and  when  he  spoke  of 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Christ  I  had  no  idea  who  or  what  He 
was.  I  have  heard  of  God,  and  my  brother  has  just  got  a  book 
that  tells  about  Him,  and  is  beginning  to  study  it."  The  lady 
gave  her  such  instruction  as  her  strange  case  required,  and  went 
away  wondering  that  in  a  Christian  city  such  a  dark  mind  should 
have  been  found. 

Major  Cole,  returned  from  a  revival  tour  of  a  year  and  a  half 


59^  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

in  England  and  Scotland,  said  :  I  want  to  give  you  some  account 
of  the  work  of  God  in  Great  Britain  since  Brothers  Moody  and 
Sankey  left.  I  am  at  a  loss  at  what  point  to  begin,  there  are 
so  many  that  are  so  full  of  interest  and  joy.  An  old  lady  being 
asked  which  of  the  Bible  writers  she  liked  best  replied,  "  Jake, 
John  and  all  the  others."  So  I  would  say.of  the  cities  and  towns 
in  Great  Britain,  where  God  has  blessed  the  labors  of  His  ser- 
vants, I  like  London  and  all  the  others. 

I  remember  meeting  Mr.  Moody  on  Madison  street  just  be- 
fore he  went  to  England,  and  asking  him  what  he  was  going  for. 
"  For  ten  thousand  souls  for  Christ,''  was  his  reply.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  this  great  number  have  been  saved  through  the 
Moody  and  Sankey  meetings,  and  the  work  is  still  going  on, 
widening  and  deepening.  I  have  no  doubt  that  God  called 
Brother  Moody  to  go  out  of  his  own  land  as  truly  as  He  did 
Abraham.  A  few  months  ago  I  was  at  a  meeting  held  in  Glas- 
gow, at  which  the  Moody  and  Sankey  Committees,  as  they  are 
called  from  London  and  Dublin,  and  Edinburg,  and  Dundee, 
and  delegates  from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other,  were 
speaking  of  the  mighty  work  of  grace  which  had  been  going  on 
since  these  brethren  left.  The  news  was  so  full  of  joy  that  I 
was  obliged  to  leave  the  hall  and  go  into  a  little  room  and  fall 
down  on  my  knees  and,  with  tears  of  joy,  give  thanks  to  God 
for  what  he  had  done  ;  for  the  buildings  put  up  ;  for  the  young 
men  sent  out  to  speak  for  Christ;  for  the  young  women  who  are 
shining  as  lights  in  society  ;  for  the  rich  men  who  are  bestow- 
ing of  their  abundance  to  help  on  Christ's  kingdom  ;  and  for 
the  women  who  are  out  till  ten,  and  twelve  and  one  o'clock  at 
night  looking  for  some  of  their  lost  sisters  whom  they  may  res- 
cue from  their  lives  of  shame. 

About  the  first  thing  I  met  when  1  landed  in  New  York,  was 
the  question,  "  How  does  the  work  hold  out?  "  I  answer  it  is 
all  the  time  increasing.  I  saw  fifteen  hundred  people  arise  for 
prayers  at  once.  I  have  heard  ministers  testify  that  they  never 
knew  iiow  to  preach  the  Bible  till  Mr.  Moody  taught  them  ;  and 
they  have  declared  that  they  have  been  able  to  reach  more  souls 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  597 

during;  this  year  and  a   half  tlian  during  all  the  rest  of  their 
ministry. 

On  the  sea  there  was  a  religious  service:  a  man  stood  np  and 
said,  "We  will  sing  out  of  Moody  and  Sankey 's  collection  hymn 
Number  So."  At  the  boiler-shops  in  an  English  town,  the  men 
had  a  meeting,  and  sang  out  of  Moody  and  Sankey's  hymn- 
book,  and  at  the  arsenal  at  Woolwich,  when  they  were  cast- 
ing the  monster  gun  called  the  "Peacemaker,"  three  hundred 
men  at  dinner-time  had  a  prayer-meeting,  and  sang  Moody  and 
Sankey's  hymns.  One  njan  said,  "  We  call  this  gun  the  '  Peace- 
maker/ but  Christ  of  whom  we  sing  is  the  Great  Peacemaker." 
This  work  is  not  going  to  stop;  there  are  millions  of  prayers 
going  up  from  Christian  hearts  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean  that 
the  revival  wave  which  began  at  York,  in  England,  shall  sweep 
round  the  world. 

Thanksgiving. 

Mr.  Moody's  warm  heart  overflowed  in  these  words  : — Day 
after  to-morrow  we  are  to  meet  down  at  the  Tabernacle  for 
a  Thanksgiving  service,  but  in  order  that  we  may  have  a  pleas- 
ant and  profitable  meeting,  there  is  something  first  to  be  done. 
There  are  a  good  many  people  for  whom  nothing  is  prepared, 
poor  families  who  haven't  any  turkey  for  Thanksgiving,  and 
the  proper  thing  for  you  to  do  is,  when  you  go  out  of  this  meet- 
ing, to  go  and  buy  them  one  and  send  it  around  to  them.  It 
may  be  if  they  have  a  turkey  for  Thanksgiving  they  are  in 
want  of  many  other  things.  Perhaps  the  children  haven't 
any  shoes  or  warm  clothes  for  the  winter.  We  are  all  of  us 
full  of  sympathy  for  orphans,  but  there  are  often  many  chil- 
dren who  are  overlooked,  who  need  your  attention  cjuite  as 
much.  I  would  a  thousand  times  rather  be  an  orphan  than 
the  child  of  a  drunkard.  I  sometimes  think  that  it  would  be 
a  good  thing  if  the  drunkard's  children  were  orphans,  so  that 
we  could  get  at  them  better ;  some  of  those  wretched  men  will 
sell  the  boots  of  their  feet,  and  jackets  off  their  backs  to  get 
money  to  buy  liciuor,  but  we  can  manage  to  give  them  a  good 
Thanksgiving  dinner  by  taking  it  to  them  ready  cooked. 


'LV 


598  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Perhaps  you  could  get  the  boys  to  put  on  the  boots  and 
soil  them  a  little  before  their  drunken  father  finds  them  out, 
and  it  might  be  well  to  put  a  patch  on  the  jacket  so  he  can't 
sell  that.  Thursday  is  Thanksgiving  and  we  want  something 
practical.  This  is  a  cold  morning,  and  a  good  time  to  stir 
around  and  do  something.  There  are  a  great  many  families 
living  in  cellars  and  garrets  that  will  be  cold  this  winter,  and 
it  would  be  a  Christian  thing  to  send  them  a  cord  of  wood  or 
a  ton  of  coal.  I  have  been  thinking  how  we  might  reach  hun- 
dreds of  poor  families.  Let  each  one  of  you  who  have  more 
than  you  need  for  yourselves,  look  up  some  poor  household 
and  say,  "I'll  be  Bishop  over  that  family;  "  do  them  all  the 
good  you  can  and  try  and  get  them  all  to  come  to  Christ. 
They  will  believe  what  you  say  if  you  show  them  a  kindness. 
A  friend  of  mine  in  Boston  used  to  carry  some  cards  in  his 
pocket,  which  were  printed  with  these  words :  "  I  expect  to 
pass  through  this  world  but  once.  If  there  is  any  good  I  can 
do  let  me  do  it  now,  for  I  do  not  expect  to  pass  this  way 
again."  And  whenever  he  met  a  friend  he  would  give  him 
one  of  these  cards.  No  man  could  talk  with  him  fifteen  min- 
utes without  finding  out  that  he  was  a  Christian.  Now,  I 
think  that  would  be  a  good  motto  for  us.  Happiness  com- 
municated doubles  itself.  Job's  captivity  was  turned  when  he 
began  to  pray  for  his  friends.  What  you  want  to  do  is  to  get 
done  thinking  of  yourselves.  Get  to  the  end  of  self,  and  go 
out  and  see  how  you  can  be  a  blessing  to  somebody  else. 
May  the  Lord  give  us  grace  to  reach  out  our  hand  in  love  and 
kindness. 

There  are  two  classes  of  poor  people,  the  Lord's  poor  and 
the  devil's  poor,  and  if  you  give  to  the  latter  you  only  encour- 
age them  to  live  on  in  idleness,  and  to  bring  up  their  chil- 
dren for  the  penitentiary.  One  reason  why  people  are  poor  is 
because  they  refuse  the  gospel.  If  they  would  only  seek  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,  God  has  promised  to 
add  all  other  good  things.  But  you  mustn't  seek  Christ  for  the 
sake  of  getting  the  other  things.  If  you  do  you  will  not  find 
llim.     Sec   to  this  matter  yourselves.     Go  and  visit  the  poor; 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  599 

find  out  about  them;  get  the  children  into  the  Sunday-school; 
give  them  the  comforts  of  life,  and  don't  fail  to  help  them  to 
come  to  Christ. 

I  heard  Judge  Olds,  from  Columbus,  relate  his  experience, 
which  I  shall  never  forget.  When  the  war  broke  out,  he  took 
some  interest  in  the  soldiers,  but  when  his  only  son  left  him 
and  went  into  the  army,  he  became  very  much  interested,  and 
gave  a  great  deal  of  time,  days  and  weeks  together,  to  the  sol- 
diers who  passed  through  Columbus.  After  a  while  he 
thought  it  was  taking  too  much  time  from  his  business,  and 
resolved  to  give  his  time  to  that  work.  He  went  down  to  his 
office  one  morning,  when  he  had  an  important  case  coming 
on,  and  pretty  soon  he  saw  a  poor  boy  in  blue  coming  in  at 
the  door.  People  had  got  in  the  habit  of  sending  soldiers  to 
Judge  Olds,  because  he  was  always  so  kind  to  them.  The 
Judge  went  on  writing  without  noticing  the  soldier  until  he 
pulled  out  a  dirty  piece  of  paper  from  his  pocket  and  laid  it 
on  the  desk.  The  Judge  glanced  at  it,  and  saw  that  it  was  in 
the  handwriting  of  his  son.  Then  he  seized  it,  and  read  : 
"  This  young  man  belongs  to  my  company  ;  he  is  sick,  and  is 
going  home;  if  he  comes  to  you,  do  everything  you  can  for 
him  for  Charley's  sake."  When  the  Judge  read  that  he  forgot 
all  about  his  resolutions,  left  his  important  case,  ran  out  and 
got  a  carriage  and  took  the  poor  fellow  to  his  house,  put  him 
into  Charley's  room,  nursed  him  and  took  care  of  him  until 
he  was  well  enough  to  start  on  his  journey  again,  and  then 
took  him  to  the  train,  put  him  in  a  comfortable  place,  and  sent 
him  on  to  his  mother.  "  I  did  that  for  the  sake  of  my  son," 
said  the  Judge  ;  "for  Charley's  sake;  but  what  do  you  sup- 
pose our  Father  in  heaven  would  do  for  the  sake  of  His  Son 
for  those  who  are  in  trouble  and  need  His  help  ?  " 

Inquiry  Meeting. 

The  inquiry  meeting  was  especially  interesting.  The  suc- 
cess of  this  feature  of  the  meetings  is  very  great,  every  even- 
ing very  large  numbers  entering  in  in  quest  of  gospel  light. 
A  large  number  of  earnest  Christian   worke«rs  are  always  in 


6oO  MOODY    AND    SAXKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

m 

attendance,  and  by  their  kind  and  cheerful  words  succeed  so 
well  in  winning  men  and  women  to  better  lives  as  to  stamp 
this  as  the  spot  where  really  the  effective  work  is  done.  The 
inquiry  meetings  are  brief,  lasting  only  twenty  minutes,  and 
are  growing  in  favor  every  night. 

Brother  Moody  advised  Christian  workers  to  study  each  case 
carefully,  learn  the  difficulties,  and  apply  the  scriptural  remedy 
to  each.  What  is  a  help  to  one,  is  a  hindrance  to  another. 
Use  tact  in  approaching  inquirers,  judgment  in  dealing  with 
them,  and  God's  word  as  the  only  remedy.  Always  carry  your 
Bible  into  the  inquiry-room,  and  use  the  printed  page,  appealing 
to  the  eye  as  well  as  to  the  ear.  There  are  passages  in  the 
Bible  suited  to  every  case,  and  be  ready  to  meet  every  objec- 
tion with  ^'Thus  saith  the  Lord." 

Inquirers  are  divided  into  classes.  First,  the  professing 
Christian  who  has  no  liberty,  no  assurance,  is  in  "Doubling 
Castle."  The  whole  of  John's  first  epistle,  was  written  for  such. 
Use  I  John  v,  13  ;  iii,  2,  14,  and  24. 

The  second  class  are  backsliders.  Use  Jeremiah  ii,  5,  13, 
19,  27,  and  32  ;  iii,  12,  13,  14,  and  22  ;  Hosea  xiv,  i,  2  and  4  ; 
examples  of  backsliders  reclaimed,  David,  Peter,  Thomas,  and 
all  the  disciples. 

The  third  class  are  those  not  deeply  convicted  of  sin.  Use 
Romans  iii,  10,  12,  and  23  ;  Isaiah  i,  5  and  6  ;  i  John  i,  10; 
Isaiah  liii,  6. 

Avoid  speaking  false  peace.  Don't  tell  a  man  he  is  con- 
verted.    Let  God  tell  him  that.     See  Jeremiah  vi,  14. 

The  fourth  class  think  themselves  too  great  sinners.  They 
are  under  deep  conviction.  Use  Isaiah  i,  18  ;  liii,  4  and  5  ; 
I  Peter  ii,  24;  Isaiah,  xliii,  25  ;  xliv,  22  ;  Romans,  v,  6  ;  Mat- 
thew, xviii,  II  ;  ix,  12. 

The  fifth  class  don't  know  how  to  come  to  Christ.  They 
must  receive  a  person,  not  a  creed.  John  i,  12.  They  must 
believe.  John,  iii,  15,  16,  18,  and  ^6  ;  v,  24  ;  vi,  10  and  47. 
They  must  trust.  Isaiah,  xxvi,  3  ;  Psalms,  xxxiv,  8.  They 
must  take  a  gift.  Revelation,  xxii,  17;  Psalms,  cxvi,  13; 
Romans,  vi,  23.     They  must  come.     John,  vi,  37  ;  Isaiah,  Iv,  i. 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  6oi 

The  sixth  class  don't  feel  that  they  are  saved.  Nowhere  in 
the  Bible  is  feeling  coupled  with  solvation. 

The  seventh  class  go  away  trusting,  and  come  back  doubling. 
They  have  neglected  to  confess  Christ!  Use  Romans  iv,  9  and 
10  ;  Matthew,  x^  32. 

The  eighth  class  are  afraid  they  will  fall.  Use  Jude,  14th 
verse  ;  Isaiah,  xliv,  10  and  13  ;  2  Timothy,  i,  12  ;  Romans,  viii, 
35  and  39  ;  Colossians,  iii,  3  and  4. 

The  ninth  class  say  they  can't  believe.     Use  John,  vii,  17. 

The  tenth  class  say  they  will  try  to  be  saved.  Use  Ro- 
mans, iv,  5. 

For  the  time  to  be  saved,  see  Isaiah,  Iv,  6  ;  2  Corinthians, 
vi,  2  ;  Hebrews,  iii,  7. 

For  the  danger  of  delay,  see  Proverbs,  i,  24  and  28 ; 
Psalms,  ix,  17  ;  2  Peter,  ii,  9. 

For  contrasts  in  conversion,  see  Act?,  xvi,  for  Lydia  and  the 
jailer;  Acts,  viii,  the  eunuch;  Acts,  x,  the  centurion. 

See  the  great  invitations^  Revelation,  xxii,  17  ;  Matthew, 
xi,  28. 

Although  their  work  formally  closed  about  the  middle  of 
December,  yet  the  delay  of  the  preliminaries  in  Boston,  whither 
the  evangelists  were  called,  and  the  illness  of  Mr.  Moody's  fam- 
ily, kept  them  in  Chicago,  and  they  gave  themselves  to  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  revival,  with  what  strength  they  could  command. 
The  various  meetings  were  maintained  with  unabated  interest, 
and  the  vast  throngs  still  pressed  into  the  Tabernacle,  and  over- 
flowed into  Farwell  Hall. 

And  here  we  must  record  an  event  that  struck  a  pang 
through  the  hearts  of  tens  of  thousands  in  Chicago,  and  was 
felt  as  a  personal  bereavement  in  all  the  land.  This  was  the 
tragical  death  of  Prof.  P.  P.  Bliss,  the  sweet  singer  whose  songs 
and  music  had  been  widely  used  in  the  revival  meetings,  and  by 
Sunday  schools  and  churches  over  the  whole  country. 

*'  He  was  coming  from  the  holiday  meeting  at  his  old  home, 

with  its  tender  memories  clinging  to  him,  to  hold  a  grand  praise 

meeting  in  Chicago,  to  which  he   was  looking  forward  with  all 

the  wholesome  enthusiasm  of  his  stalwart  Christian  manhood. 

26 


5oa  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Moving  along  a  line  leading  from  joyous  scene  to  pleasant  duty, 
he  was  stopped  midway  to  die." 

He  was  detained  by  missing  a  R.  R.  connection,  and  on  the 
fatal  night,  December  29, .he  was  plunged  down  to  the  horrible 
destruction  that  has  made  Ashtabula,  Ohio,  forever  memorable 
as  the  scene  of  one  of  the  painfullest  disasters  that  ever  befell  a 
train  of  cars  laden  with  human  beings.    The  secular  press  said  : 

Mr.  Bliss  was  the  song  writer  of  the  church  and  Sabbath- 
school.  He  stood  prominent  among  those  earnest  workeis 
who  have  invested  Sabbath-school  music  with  the  cheerfulness, 
lightness,  brightness,  and  briskness  that  were  wanting  in  the 
old  hymns,  and  who  have  added  to  them  new  pathos  and  ten- 
derness. His  works  were  songs  rather  than  hymns,  and  they 
were  written  under  the  inspiration  of  the  ideal  song-writer.  In 
words  and  music,  his  compositions  were  adapted  to  the  long- 
ings and  wants  of  those  he  desired  to  reach.  The  illustrations 
were  familiar,  the  methods  were  striking,  the  sentiment  was  an 
echo  of  the  feeling  in  his  own  heart.  He  seized  quickly  upon 
incident,  or  figure,  or  story,  and  turned  it  to  good  account. 
Catching  suggestions  from  the  actual  life  of  the  people,  his 
songs  and  his  musical  compositions  came  to  the  masses  as  reve- 
lations. The  relation  of  an  army  incident,  suggested  "  Hold 
the  Fort."  It  was  written  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  and 
it  has  traveled  the  world  over.  It  has  been  translated  into  not 
only  nearly  all  the  European  languages,  but  into  Chinese  and 
the  native  languages  of  India.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
it  is  popular  beyond  any  other  Sabbath-school  song  of  the  age. 
And  with  it  travel  others  almost  as  popular ;  "What  will  the 
Harvest  be  ?  "  "  Almost  Persuaded,"  "  Only  an  Armor-bearer," 
etc.,  etc 

When  we  remember  that  every  child,  from  the  lisping  four 
year-old,  to  the  youth  of  fifteen  or  eighteen,  is  singing  in  Sab 
bath-school  and  home,  "  Only  an  armor-bearer,  proudly  I 
stand,"  and  that  not  only  in  home  and  Sabbath-school,  but  at 
politi.al  meetings,  people  have  been  shouting,  '*  Hold  the  fort, 
for  I  am  coming,"  then,  and  not  till  then,  do  we  realize  how 
near  this  man  was  to  the  people  at  large. 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  603 

Mr,  Bliss  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the  vigorous  and  robust  man. 
He  was  gifted  with  a  sweet  voice  and  an  attractive  manner. 
He  carried  into  his  musical  work  the  martial  bearing  and 
movement  of  the  commander  in  a  great  crusade.  This  spirit 
breathes  along  his  lines  and  swells  m  all  his  music.  Children 
caught  quickly  this  heroic  spirit.  His  military  figures  found  the 
nation  responsive.  He  is  never,  in  any  composition,  at  a  halt. 
He  is  always  marching  forward  or  struggling  upward.  There  is 
always  the  suggestion  of  the  leader's  plume  to  the  front ;  there 
is  always  a  purpose,  a  hope,  a  promise,  a  resolve,  at  the  heart  ; 
there  is  always  present  the  spirit  that  moves  masses  to  respons- 
ive or  heroic  moods,  or  that  pathos  that  calls  out  the  best 
there  is  in  man.  Hence  the  popularity  of  Mr,  Bliss'  compo- 
sitions, and,  more  important,  the  good  influence  they  have 
exerted. 

One  of  his  intimate  friends  relates  how  many  of  his  composi- 
tions, now  famous,  first  found  shape  in  his  own  home  ;  of  how, 
with  wife  and  children  and  a  few  chosen  friends  about  him,  he 
first  sung  the  songs  that  were  to  be  given  to  the  world.  And 
this  friend  tells  of  how  the  singer  and  his  family  rejoiced  over 
the  perfecting  of  some  work  that  reflected  an  experience  or  trial 
or  struggle  or  rejoicing  that  they  themselves  had  lived  through. 
The  man  spoke  from  the  heart  of  his  home,  and  no  wonder  he 
touched  the  popular  heart. 

He  was  only  in  his  prime,  being  thirty-eight  years  old. 

Mr.  Bliss  possessed  a  powerful  and  sweet  voice,  which  he 
cultivated  carefully.  He  was  a  remarkably  pleasing  and  eflect- 
ive  singer.  He  had  a  rare  fertility  in  the  composition  of  airs, 
sweet,  simple,  and  calculated  to  touch  the  popular  heart.  They 
were  precisely  what  was  wanted  for  Sunday-schools  and  gospel 
meetings,  and  were  sung  not  only  in  chapels  and  tabernacles, 
but  in  thousands  of  homes. 

He  was  a  man  of  a  very  lovely  character.  Among  those 
who  saw  much  of  him  he  inspired  not  only  respect  and  esteem, 
but  feelings  of  a  very  tender  personal  attachment.  ''  He  was  a 
very  good  man  ;  a  very  lovely  man,"  said  Mr.  Frederick  W 
Root.      "I  knew  him  only  to  love  him,"  said  Mr.  Sankcy.     Mr. 


6o4  MOODY   AND    SANKEY   IN   AMERICA. 

Bliss  married  a  Pennsylvania  lady  about  the  time  of  his  coming 
west.  His  only  children  were  the  two  little  boys  aged  four  and 
two  years,  respectively.  His  father  is  dead.  His  mother  and 
two  sisters  survive  him  in  Towanda,  Pa.,  and  when  they  are 
called  away  they  will  find  the  son  and  brother  at  the  celestial 
gate  "  waiting  and  watching  "  for  them. 

When  the  news  of  the  tragic  death  of  Mr.  Bliss  and  family 
leached  the  firm  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  they  immediately  ordered 
their  foreman  to  proceed,  with  a  corps  of  assistants,  to  the 
Tabernacle  and  drape  a  portion  of  its  interior  with  the  emblems 
of  mourning.  About  i,ooo  yards  were  used  in  festooning  the 
front  of  the  platform  and  the  edge  of  the  gallery.  The  material 
used  was,  of  course,  white  and  black  cambric,  which  was  con- 
tributed by  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 

At  a  praise  service  for  Mr.  Bliss  at  the  Tabernacle,  not  less 
than  twenty  thousand  persons  assembled  in  and  around  the 
place.  Within :  In  front  of  Mr.  Moody's  stand  hung  a  por- 
trait in  oil,  of  Mr.  Bliss.  A  cross  of  white  flowers  adorned  the 
front  of  the  organ.  Nearly  all  of  the  local  clergy  sat  on  the 
j^latform.  It  was  a  service  not  of  words  but  of  sacred  song; 
and  the  many  beautiful  hymns  which  arose  in  a  mighty  volume 
of  sound  from  the  lips  of  that  great  audience  were  all  the  pro- 
duct of  Mr.  Bliss'  beautifully  simple  talent.  The  finest  of  his 
sacred  lyrics  were  sung  with  a  depth  of  earnestness,  fervor, 
and  heartiness  that  has  never  been  surpassed  in  this  city.  It 
was  an  effective  demonstration  of  the  matchless  eloquence  of 
the  human  voice  when  a  great  throng  of  people  lift  up  their 
hearts  and  voices  together  in  songs  of  praise.  The  services 
opened  with  two  of  Mr.  Bliss'  most  stirring  hymns.  The 
first,  that  triumphal  song,  "  Hallelujah,  'tis  done,"  whose 
words  and  music  so  harmoniously  and  beautifully  blend  the 
sentiments  of  rejoicing  and  thanksgiving.  The  second, 
"  Hold  the  Fort,"  one  of  the  martial  hymns  of  the  Christian 
soldier. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  exercises  was  the  singing 
of  Hymn  23,  the  favorite  song  of  the  Sunday-school,  com- 
mencing: 


THE   GOSPEL    IN   CHICAGO.  605 

I  am  so  gl.id  that  our  Father  in  heaven 
Tells  of  His  love  in  the  hook  He  has  given, 
Wonderful  things  in  the  lUble  I  see, 
But  this  is  the  dearest,  that  Jesus  loves  me. 

The  choir  sang  each  stanza  and  the  children  in  the  audi- 
ence took  up  the  refrain  alone.  The  childish  treble  of  the 
little  ones  rose  from  all  parts  of  the  hall,  and  the  effect  was 
remarkably  pleasing  and  sweet  in  contrast  with  the  heavy 
voices  of  the  adult  singers. 

Another  beautiful  song,  in  which  the  entire  congregation 
joined,  commenced,  "  Will  you  meet  me  at  the  fountain  ?  " 
It  was  suggested  to  Mr.  Bliss  when  he  heard  a  party  of 
friends  agree  to  meet  at  the  fountain  in  the  evening. 

Another  favorite  hymn,  which  was  rendered  softly  and  with 
very  pleasing  effect,  commenced  : 

A  precious  promise  God  hath  given 

To  the  weary  passer-by. 
On  the  way  from  earth  to  heaven, 

"  I  will  guide  thee  with  Mine  eye." 

A  hymn  based  upon  the  twenty-third  Psalm,  which  Mr. 
Moody  read,  was  rendered  by  Mr.  Sankey,  assisted  by  a  quar- 
tette. It  is  one  of  the  least  familiar  of  Mr.  Bliss'  pieces,  but 
is  not  exceeded  by  many  of  his  efforts  in  effectiveness  of  sen- 
timent or  sweet  simplicity  of  melody.  Another  hymn  which 
was  sung  by  the  congregation,  is  one  of  the  richest  and  most 
moving  of  the  sacred  melodies  composed  by  Mr.  Bliss.  The 
music  and  words,  unlike  the  most  of  his  pieces,  breathe  a 
spirit  of  tender  sadness,  whose  sombreness  is  relieved  by  the 
delicate  underfeeling  of  hope  and  trust  which  runs  through 
the  verse  and  song.     It  commences  : 

Weary  gleaner,  whence  comest  thou. 

With  empty  hand  and  clouded  brow, 

Plodding  along  thy  lonely  way. 

Tell  me  where  hast  thou  gleaned  to-day? 

Tlie  harvest  past,  my  search  revealed. 

Others  golden  sheaves  had  gained. 

Only  stubble  for  me  remained. 

Mr.  Moody  said  that  the  first  time  he  ever  heard  Mr.  Bliss 


"6o6  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

sing,  he  rendered  one  of  his  hymns  whose  chorus  commenced 
"Only  remember."  The  hymn  was  rendered  by  Mrs.  John- 
son, with  much  feeling  and  beauty,  Mr.  Sankey  accompanying 
on  the  organ.  Mr.  Sankey  sung  "Watching  and  Waiting' 
in  his  most  effective  and  impressive  style.  This  familiar  song 
is  one  of  the  richest  contributions  that  Mr.  Bliss  ever  made 
to  the  hymnal  of  the  church.  It  never  fails  of  being  dee[)ly 
impressive  when  well  rendered.  Many  will  remember  with 
what  sweet  power  and  tenderness  it  was  sung  by  Mr.  Bliss  and 
his  wife  at  the  dedicatory  services  of  the  Chicago  Avenue 
church. 

Mr.  Moody  stated  that  a  friend  of  his  who  was  on  the  fated 
train  says  that  the  last  time  he  saw  Mr.  Bliss  was  two  or  three 
hours  before  the  accident.  He  had  his  Bible  and  pencil  and 
paper  in  hand  and  was  writing  another  hymn. 

Among  the  other  exercises  was  the  singing  of  "  Beneath  the 
Cross  of  Jesus,"  "  Roll  on,  roll  on,  O  billows  of  fire,"  "  Who- 
soever heareth,"  and  "Only  an  armor-bearer." 

Mr.  Moody  made  a  very  affecting  and  eloquent  prayer,  and 
the  song  service  was  concluded  with  the  singing  of  "  Rock  of 
Ages,"  to  music  that  was  composed  by  Mrs.  Bliss. 

Notes  from  a  reporter's  pencil  are  valuable  in  this  connec- 
tion, because  they  give  us  Mr.  Sankey's  thoughts  and  experi- 
ences : 

*'  I  have  noticed  that  *  Watching  and  Waiting  '  has  been  a 
decided  favorite.     Has  that,  too,  a  history  ?  " 

*'  Something  of  one.  The  words  were  brought  here  from  Eng- 
land, by  Rev.  F.  J.  Hartley.  Mr.  Bliss  wrote  the  air,  but  the 
words  seemed  so  childish  in  sentiment,  that  he  didn't  care  to 
connect  his  name  with  it,  and  you  see  the  music  is  published  in 
our  book  anonymously.  Though  it  went  into  the  book,  I  thought 
'.t  was  too  childish  a  thing  to  sing,  and  I  went  through  the  Phila- 
delphia meetings  without  giving  it  at  all.  But  one  day  in  New 
York  the  feeling  of  the  meeting  was  so  much  in  harmony  with 
the  central  thought  of  that  song  that,  as  I  wanted  something  new, 
I  ventured  to  give  it.  It  just  touched  the  feeling  of  the  audi- 
knce,  and   produced  such  an   effect  as  the   first   singing   of 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  607 

'The  Ninety  and  Nine.'  Since  tliat,  boih  in  New  York  and 
here,  I  have  had  requests  by  the  hundred  to  sing  it.  I3y  the 
way,  'The  Ninety  and  Nine'  was  originally  'The  Lost  Sheep.' 
That  was  the  name  of  the  poem,  and  that  is  what  I  called  it 
when  I  began  to  sing  it.  The  one  lost  sheep  is  the  subject  of 
the  piece.  But  Mr.  Moody  got  to  calling  it  'The  Ninety  and 
Nine,'  and  the  people  look  up  that  name,  and  I  had  to  direct 
the  publishers  of  the  book  to  change  the  name." 

"  You  have  sung  a  good  many  pieces  here,  that  are  not  in 
your  book." 

"  Yes  ;  they'll  appear  in  the  new  book  we  are  getting  out. 
It  will  be  published  in  a  week  or  two,  I  think.  It  will  be  almost 
entirely  different  from  the  present  book.  There  are  three  or 
four  songs  that  we  can't  get  along  without,  but  otherwise,  the 
book  will  be  wholly  new.  Mr.  Moody  wanted  me  to  have  the 
new  book  out  before  we  came  here,  but  I  told  him  I  couldn't 
face  a  western  audience  without  the  songs  we  used  in  England 
and  the  eastern  cities.  But  now  the  time  has  come  for  a  change. 
You  know  we  are  charged  with  making  a  profit  off  the  sing- 
ing-books, photographs,  etc.  You  are  authorized  to  say  offi- 
cially for  me,  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  foundation  for  any 
of  these  reports.  I  have  never  received  a  penny  from  the  pub- 
lishers of  the  book.  It  may  interest  you  to  know  that  I  lately 
received  three  copies  of  our  book  of  songs  in  Chinese." 

At  a  rneeting  Mr.  Moody  said  that  if  Mr.  Bliss  could  have 
foreseen  his  fate,  he  would  doubtless  have  charged  his  Christian 
friends  to  pray  for  his  two  boys  who  were  to  be  left  in  a  world 
of  temptations,  without  a  father's  care,  and  a  mother's  prayer. 
Brother  Moody  wished  to  lay  this  charge  on  every  Christian 
heart,  so  that  all  would  pray  for  them  as  for  their  own  children. 
Pray  for  Paul  and  George  by  name. 

Funds  for  a  monument  to  Mr.  Bliss  had  already  been  partly 
raised,  but  the  boys  must  be  provided  for.  Means  to  educate 
them  must  be  raised.  He  had  that  morning  raised  ten  thousand 
dollars,  and  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Henry  Field,  in  trust,  for  the 
support  and  education  of  the  sons  of  Mr.  Bliss.  If  any  person 
chose  to  add  to  this  fund,  he  was  welcome  to  do  so,  but  no 


6o8  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

one  was  solicited,  and  no  offerings  except  those  of  a  free  will 
were  desired.  He  hoped  the  church  of  America,  regard- 
less of  denomination,  would  become  the  nursing  mother  of 
these  boys. 

My  heart  goes  out  to  one  person  this  morning,  and  that  is 
the  mother.  His  father  is  dead.  It  was  only  a  few  weeks  ago 
that  he  died,  and  his  mother  is  a  widow.  And  how  additionally 
terrible  a  blow  this  will  be,  for  he  was  her  only  son.  Let  us  just 
have  prayer  for  that  mother,  that  God  may  sustain  and  help  her. 
And  then  let  us  not  forget  that  dear  Mrs.  Bliss  was  not  one  inch 
behind  her  husband.  She  was  an  angel  of  goodness  and  gen- 
tleness, hovering  around  him  and  helping  him.  She  taught  him 
to  pray  ;  she  taught  him  music,  and  together  they  walked  in  faith, 
and  together  went  down  to  death  and  up  to  glory.  You  see  this 
casual  charge  brought  against  him,  that  he  used  his  talents  for 
coin.  When  we  got  out  this  little  hymn  book,  there  was  a  roy- 
alty realized  upon  it  of  sixty  thousand  dollars.  The  book  had 
received  the  close  attention  of  Brother  Bliss,  and  an  offer  was 
made  him  that  he  should  have  five  thousand.  It  would  have 
been  all  right,  but  as  to  that  matter  the  world  need  never  have 
known  it,  had  he  accepted  it.  But  he  refused  point  blank  ;  he 
would  not  have  a  single  dollar.  He  gave  his  time  and  labor 
free-handed  to  the  Lord,  without  thought  of  reward.  He  was 
a  noble  man  ;  he  was  a  prince  among  men  ;  Chicago  never 
knew  him  ;  Chicago  never  had  a  truer  man ;  I  don't  believe 
any  of  our  citizens  would  be  missed  so  much  as  he  will.  He 
will  be  preaching  a  hundred  years  hence,  and  so  long  as  Chris- 
tians shall  sing  his  beautiful,  cheerful  hymns.  It  seems  as 
though  God  raised  up  this  man  just  to  write  these  hymns.  Now 
let  us  pray,  not  only  for  that  mother,  but  for  Mrs.  Bliss's 
fither  and  mother,  and  for  every  member  of  the  family. 
God  be  praised  for  such  a  woman  ;  God  be  praised  for  such 
a  man. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  referring  to  the  death  of 
Commodore  Vandcrbilt,  thus  contrasted  these  two  pub- 
lie   men. 

In   the   scale   by  which    we  measure   men,  we  rank  lowest 


THE    GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  609 

those  who  work  in  matter  for  the  mere  puri)ose  of  moulding 
it  into  more  useful  form.  It  is  a  useful  and  honorable  thing 
to  be  a  husbandman,  mechanic  or  merchant;  Init  such  men 
are  not  generally  conscious  that  they  are  working  for  their 
fellow-men,  and  their  labor  is  considered  of  the  lowest  order. 
Next  come  those  who  work  upon  the  mind,  who  deal  in  ideas 
— thinkers,  discoverers  of  truth,  and  philosophers.  Next  in 
the  scale  are  those  that  develop  the  imagination  and  the  finer 
qualities  of  taste,  as  all  true  poets.  Highest  of  all  stand  those 
who  mould  the  heart  to  nobility  and  shape  it  to  the  Divine 
will — the  workers  in  disposition.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  died 
yesterday — one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  that  New-York 
has  ever  produced ;  one  of  the  clearest  heads ;  one  who  had 
the  art  of  turning  thoughts  to  things ;  a  man  of  great  sagac- 
ity; a  man  of  intense  foresight,  capable  of  comprehensive 
plans  and  combinations,  of  great  energy  of  will,  of  clear  execu- 
tive processes,  who  took  few  backward  steps.  Beginning  early 
he  made  himself  felt  upon  the  commercial  interests  of  his 
neighborhood,  and  has  gone  on  through  a  long  series  of  years 
and  reached  an  extraordinary  old  age  of  activity  with  his 
understanding  clear  and  crisp  and  radiant  to  the  very  last. 
He  was  a  man  that  did  a  great  deal  of  good,  a  man  that  de- 
serves in  his  rank  the  honors  of  that  rank.  There  are  few  of 
the  commercial  forces  that  have  been  his  equal,  perhaps  none 
his  superior.  Yet  there  it  stops;  there  it  stops.  It  is  true 
that  in  his  last  days,  thanks  to  the  Christian  woman  whom  God 
gave  him  for  a  companion  and  good  guide,  he  endowed  a  uni- 
versity, and  the  good  he  has  done  in  that  will  outrun  and  out- 
last immeasurably  all  the  other  successes  of  his  life.  But  I 
am  speaking  of  the  man's  intentions,  his  recognized  purposes 
and  methods  all  through  his  life.  He  had  a  wide  field  anj 
hCoi)e,  and  certainly  as  a  mere  business  man  he  must  be  spoken 
of  honorably. 

Another  man  has  died  within  a  few  days,  not  in  his  home, 
surrounded  by  sorrowing  friends,  or  with  physicians  of  skill 
about  his  bedside;  not  with-  the  thermometer  of  his  life  re- 
corded, like   the  weather,  each    day  in  the  newspapers.     He 


6lO  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

died  a  death  in  the -midst  of  unutterable  horrors;  for  in  that- 
terrific  plunge  made  through  the  broken  bridge  at  Ashtabula, 
it  would  seem  as  if  all  the  horrors  of  tearing  and  rending  and 
burning  and  lacerating  were  there  combined.  There  Mr. 
Bliss  died;  not  a  great  man,  but  one  whose  whole  life  was 
devoted  wholly  and  sweetly  to  ennobling  the  dispositions  of 
men.  His  hymns  will  not  live  as  long  as  Watts's  or  Wesley's, 
but  they  were  written  for  our  time  and  they  have  moved  a 
whole  generation  of  Christians  and  thinkers.  They  have  had 
a  silent  influence,  gentle  as  the  dew  in  summer,  and  have 
nouiished  ten  times  ten  thousand  tender  roots.  His  life  sud- 
denly ceased,  and  a  few  papers  noticed  it.  He  held  no  such 
placi  in  the  world  as  Commodore  Vanderbilt.  It  is  not  right 
that  I  should  compare  them  except  to  say  that  the  latter  was 
vastly  more  strong  in  mind  and  possessed  of  a  more  expansive 
character.  But  Mr.  Bliss  has  done  a  far  grander  work;  he 
has  made  the  heavens  not  brass  but  transparent ;  he  has 
brought  something  of  the  heavenly  chants  down  to  earth.  He 
has  been  as  the  tongue  of  the  Lord.  It  was  a  glorious  career; 
it  lies  not  within  the  circuit  of  every  one's  imitation  in  the 
same  way ;  but  each  one  can  do  the  duty  that  stands  over 
against  us.  To  us  these  accidents  seem  terrible ;  but  to  the 
most  of  those  who  met  their  death  at  Ashtabula  it  was  no 
more  than  falling  asleep.  The  soul  of  Brother  Bliss  winged 
its  way  at  once  into  the  presence  of  God. 

These  grand  words  were  the  hearty  tribute  of  one  who  knew 
the  sweet  singer  of  our  American  Israel  only  by  his  songs.  His 
pastor  gave  him  royal  testimony  at  the  funeral  services  in  Chi- 
cago ;  on  which  occasion,  a  hymn  was  read  lately  written  by 
Mr.  Bliss,  and  left  without  music,  beginning  : 

I  am  past  the  cross, 

I  am  on  the  heavenly  side. 

His  very  last  song  was  sung  by  the  choir,  and  as  it  was  found 
at  his  home,  and  is  quite  new,  we  give  it  as  the  freshest  pro- 
duction of  his  graceful  pen. 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CHICAGO.  6ri 

1  know  not  what  awaits  me, 

God  kindly  veils  mine  eyes. 
And  o'er  each  step  of  my  onward  way 

He  makes  new  scenes  arise  ; 
And  ever)'  joy  He  sends  me  comes 

A  sweet  and  glad  surprise. 

Chonis — 

Where  he  may  lead  I'll  follow, 

My  trust  in  him  repose, 
And  every  hour  in  perfect  peace 

I'll  sing,  "  He  knows,  He  knows." 

One  step  I  see  before  me, 

'Tis  all  I  need  to  see. 
The  light  of  heaven  more  brightly  shines 

When  earth's  illusions  flee  ; 
And  sweetly  through  the  silence  came 

His  loving,  "  Follow  me." 

O  blissful  lack  of  wisdom, 

'Tis  blessed  not  to  know  ; 
He  holds  me  with  His  own  right  hand, 

And  will  not  let  me  go. 
And  lulls  my  troubled  soul  to  rest 

In  Him  who  loves  me  so. 

• 

So  on  I  go,  not  knowing, 

I  would  not  if  I  mighf ; 
I'd  rather  walk  in  the  dark  with  God 

Than  go  alone  in  the  light ; 
I'd  ralhcr  walk  by   faith  with  Him 

Than  go  alone  by  sight. 

Mr.  p.  p.  Bliss  was  born  in  Clearfield  County,  Pa.,  July  9th, 
1838.  He  had  very  slender  early  advantages,  and  was  therefore 
a  self-made  man.  His  wife  was  instrumental  in  his  conversion, 
as  she  also  contributed  very  materially  to  his  success  in  every 
department  of  life  in  which  he  shone.  After  going  to  Chicago 
he  drifted  about  among  the  churches  till  he  was  called  to  the 
leadership  of  the  choir  and  Sunday  School  of  the  First 
Congregational  Church,  where  he  proved    himself  a   man   of 


Ci2  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

great  usefulness.  His  gentle  spirit  and  devoted  life  were  fully 
developed,  and  his  musical  talents  made  him  welcome  wherever 
he  could  be  heard.  Mr.  \Vm.  B.  Bradbury  found  him  a 
kindred  worker  in  the  field  of  Sunday-school  music,  and  he 
stepped  forth  into  the  front  rank  as  a  composer  of  hymns  and 
tunes  for  revival  and  prayer  meetings.  In  connection  with 
Major  D.  \V.  Whittle  he  went  far  and  wide  through  the  south 
and  west,  and  had  the  promise  of  immense  usefulness  as  an 
evangelist,  when  his  career  was  so  fatally  checked.  Eternity  will 
reveal  the  reason  why  he  was  allowed  thus  early  to  cease  from 
his  labors.  His  pastor  conveyed  the  remains  to  their  last  resting- 
place  near  the  home  of  his  youth ;  and  he  said  after  his  return 
that  not  a  shadow  had  come  over  the  faces  of  the  friends  of  the 
deceased  singer.  God's  ministry  chased  away  the  darkness. 
There  was  the  grandmother  of  eighty-three  years,  her  face  al- 
ready shining  with  the  light  of  the  heaven  to  which  she  stood 
so  near.  When  the  sad  news  was  told  her  she  said  :  "  Only 
a  step  has  Philip  gone  in  advance  of  me."  His  parents  walked 
calmly  and  without  a  murmur  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow, 
knowing  it  to  be  only  a  shadow.  The  funeral  service  was 
turned  into  an  inquiry  meeting,  and  twenty-five  pisrsons  avowed 
their  determination  to  accept  Christ.  Thus  even  his  death 
was  blessed  in  giving  life  to  souls  dead  in  sins :  while  it 
stimulates  his  fellow-laborers  to  unceasing  earnestness  in 
gathering  the  harvest  for  Him  of  whom  Mr.  Bliss  sung:    . 

My  onl)»hopc  and  story 

Is  Jesus  died  for  me  ; 
My  only  hope  of  glory, 

The  cross  of  Calvary. 

A  Reluctant  Farewell. 

Lingering  long  among  their  old  friends,  they  were  still  thronged 
as  no  other  evangelists  have  ever  been.  The  vivid  press 
reports  photograph  the  constantly  recurring  scenes  : 

Last  evening  was  a  memorable  one  in  the  history  of  evangel- 
ism in  the  Northwest.  For  sixteen  weeks  Messrs.  Moody  and 
Sankey  have  held  forth  at  the  Tabernacle  to  audiences  which  in 


P.   p.   BLISS. 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CHICACO.  613 

Chicago  have  been  unprecedentedly  large,  and  that  of  last  nip;ht 
closed  the  general  meetings.  Sunday  services  have  always  been 
of  the  most  interesting  character,  and  those  of  yesterday,  and 
of  last  evening  in  particular,  were  no  exception  to  the  rule.  Jt 
is  needless  to  say  the  building  was  full.  At  6:30,  the  placiird 
might  have  been  hung  out,  "  standing-room  only,"  and  at  seven 
o'clock  entrance  to  'the  sanctuary  was  almost  as  difficult  an 
undertaking  as  to  attempt  to  walk  through  the  eye  of  a  needle. 
From  that  hour  the  crowd  outside  were  augmented.  By  7:30 
around  the  Monroe  street  doors  thousands  congregated,  push- 
ing and  elbowing,  and  imploring  the  inexorable  ushers  to  open 
the  gates  and  let  them  in.  But  their  appeals  were  in  vain. 
There  they  stood,  however,  watching  and  waiting  until  the 
meeting  was  over.  A  similar  state  of  afifairs  existed  on  the 
Franklin  street  side.  Upon  a  narrow  stairway,  leading  to  Mr. 
Moody's  private  room,  were  crowded  a  mass  of  people,  male  and 
female,  in  the  hope  of  getting  into  the  meeting  that  way. 

A  religious  tea-party  was  given  by  Messrs.  Moody  and  San- 
key,  to  reformed  drunkards.  It  was  a  sort  of  farewell  gather- 
ing. Mr.  Moody  expected  to  have  few,  if  any  more  opportuni- 
ties to  talk  to  them,  and  preferred  to  meet  them  in  a  semi- 
social  way.  The  attendance  was  large,  the  hall  being  nearly 
filled,  and  the  platform  actually  crowded,  with  brands  plucked 
from  the  burning. 

He  said  there  were  a  few  things  which  he  wanted  to  say  to 
them,  and  he  would  say  them  now,  because  he  might  not  have 
another  opportunity.  Some  of  them  might  think  he  was  un- 
charitable, but  he  didn't  mean  it  that  way.  Now,  his  experience 
was  that  young  converts,  after  a  time,  were  likely  to  begin  to 
find  fault,  saying  that  the  church  was  not  warm  enough.  He 
had  done  that  at  first,  but  found  that  the  church  niembers 
would  button  up  their  coats  and  take  it  as  hard  as  he  could  take 
it.  They  got  to  look  on  him  as  a  nuisance  on  account  of  hi.s 
grumbling.  After  a  while  he  discovered  that  the  way  to  make 
people  warm  toward  him,  was  to  be  warm  himself.  More  Hies 
could  be  caught  with  molasses  than  vinegar.  It  was  necessary 
for  converts  to  be  sweet  themselves. 


6l4  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

He  had  understood  that  not  one  out  of  five  of  the  converts 
was  going  into  the  church.  The  church  was  the  best  thing  on 
God's  earth,  and  they  should  all  go  into  it.  The  preachers  were 
their  best  friends. 

He  would  rather  earn  five  cents,  than  have  any  one  give  him 
five  dollars.  They  should  all  go  to  work.  He  didn't  know  what 
God  was  going  to  do  with  a  lazy  man.  They  must  go  to  woik, 
and  they  must  not  grumble  if  people  suspected  them  at  first, 
or  if  they  could  not  get  as  good  positions  as  they  had  before 
they  fell.     They  must  expect  to  begin  low. 

There  was  another  thing.  Maybe  some  of  them  were  given 
to  lying.  He  brought  this  up,  because  he  had  understood  that 
one  of  the  reformed  had  been  lying.  That  was  a  thing  which 
would  not  do.  It  hurt  everybody.  It  was  the  best  thing  to  tell 
the  truth  and  the  whole  truth,  even  if  it  were  against  one. 

Even  if  they  did  not,  try  as  they  might,  get  on  as  they  would 
like  to,  they  should  stand  firm  and  not  go  back  to  sin.  God 
would  open  a  way  for  them. 

Tuesday,  January  i6th,  was  the  final  day,  and  in  spite  of  a 
heavy  storm,  thousands  gathered  at  the  noon-meeting,  and  the 
brethren  poured  out  their  hearts  in  grateful  praise.  Mr.  San- 
key  said  he  couldn't  let  the  meeting  pass  without  expressing 
the  sentiments  of  his  heart.  In  the  first  place  he  wished  to 
thank  God  that  the  churches  had  thrown  open  their  doors  to 
the  young  converts.  He  would  leave  the  house  with  sadness 
if  he  felt  that  they  were  to  have  no  religious  home.  As  it  was, 
he  should  leave  with  a  glad  heart,  because  the  churches  gave 
such  a  warm  welcome  to  all  classes.  He  begged  the  young 
converts  not  to  tarry  at  the  threshold,  but  to  knock  at  the 
church  doors  till  they  got  in.  He  feared  for  those  who  stood 
out.  They  would  soon  be  in  the  condition  of  the  lost  sheep. 
He  was  thankful  to  know  that  the  gospel  was,  and  would  be 
preached  in  the  churches.  He  never  had  been  assisted  by  a 
more  faithful  band  of  singers  than  here,  and  he  only  spoke  the 
feelings  of  all,  when  he  bore  testimony  to  the  good  work  they 
had  done.  He  hoped  ^Christians  would  always  rally  around 
singing  the   gospel  as  a  means  of  grace,  and  hoped  a  blessing 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  CHICAGO.  615 

would  rest  on  the  new  songs.  He  hoped  the  Christians  of 
Chicago  would  pray  for  Mr.  Moody  and  him  every  day,  and 
every  hour. 

Mr.  Sankey  then  sang  : 

Oh,  what  are  you  going  to  do,  brother? 

Say,  what  are  you  going  to  do? 
You  have  thought  of  some  useful  labor, 

But  what  is  the  end  in  view? 

Mr.  Moody  asked  all  Christians  to  offer  silent  prayer  for  the 
conversion  of  all  unconverted  persons  present.  He  invited  all 
who  wished  to  be  prayed  for  to  arise,  and  over  one  hundred 
persons  did  so. 

In  his  farewell  sermon  at  night,  Mr.  Moody  said  : 

There  is  a  picture  I  used  to  see,  and  I  remember  I  went  and 
bought  a  steel  engraving  of  it,  I  liked  it  so  well.  It  is  of  a 
woman  coming  up  out  of  the  water,  and  both  her  arms  around 
the  cross.  One  day  I  was  walking  down  the  street,  and  I  saw 
another  picture  of  a  woman  with  one  arm  around  the  cross.  She 
was  reaching  down  and  getting  hold  of  others,  and  pulling 
them  up  from  the  water.  I  put  the  other  picture  away  ;  I 
didn't  want  to  see  it  any  more ;  I  liked  the  other  so  much 
better. 

I  believe  I  was  a  Christian  three  years  before  I  led  a  soul 
to  Christ.  I  didn't  know  how  to  set  myself  to  work.  But  after 
a  while  I  got  into  the  vineyard.  If  you  want  some  work  to  do 
let  me  advise  you  to  go  to  church  next  Sunday  and  go  to  the 
minister  and  ask  him  if  he  has  not  something  for  you  to  do. 
If  he  has  not,  don't  you  join  that  church  :  just  keep  going  until 
you  find  a  minister  tiiat  has  something  for  you  to  do.  No  mat- 
ter what  it  is,  do  it.  Take  a  little  waif  from  the  streets.  A 
young  convert  in  London  used  to  go  down  to  the  Seven  Dials, 
one  of  the  worst  places  in  London,  and  used  to  go  about  there, 
picking  up  little  waifs.  When  I  knew  him  he  had  saved  soma 
three  hundred  of  them.  Some  were  in  South  America,  on  his 
plantations  ;  some  were  in  Canada,  here,  and  some  were  at  home, 
in  England.     When  he  took  them  from  the  streets,  he  would  go 


6l6  MOODY    ANI1    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

and  have  their  photographs  taken,  just  as  they  were,  all  lagged 
and  dirty;  and  then  he  would  bathe  them  and  put  clean  clothes 
upon  them,  and  learn  them  to  be  civil  and  teach  them  some 
useful  employment.  After  he  kept  them  a  ew  years  and  gave 
them  a  good  education,  he  would  take  them  to  a  photograph 
gallery  again  and  get  anotiicr  photograph ;  then  with  the  two 
he  would  send  them  out.  One  was  to  show  them  what  they 
had  been  ;  tlie  other  was  to  show  them  what  he  had  done  for 
them.  Let  your  memory  go  back  sometimes  to  where  the  Son 
of  God  found  you,  and  then  let  the  song  of  gratitude  go  up  from 
your  heart.  It  is  the  greatest  privilege  on  earth  to  go  out  and 
work  for  the  Son  of  God. 

The  mighty  mass  of  people  who  surged  into  the  Tabernacle 
to  hear  this  discourse  to  the  converts  were  not  disappointed. 
Tickets  were  issued  to  newly  converted  persons,  and  more  than 
four  thousand  of  these  were  seated  on  the  lower  floor,  which 
was  reserved  for  this  class  alone.  As  had  been  announced 
before,  this  evening  there  was  a  call  for  eighty  thousand  dollars 
for  the  Association,  and  for  bills,  and  the  continuance  of  the 
work.  The  large  amount  was  soon  nearly  made  up,  many  men 
contributing  five  thousand,  twenty-five  hundred  and  a  thousand 
dollars.     Mr.  Moody  had  his  hand  on  the  purse-strings. 

His  farewell  words  were  very  tender,  and  his  young  converts, 
to  whom  he  has  become  endeared,  were  completely  overcome. 
He  had  a  kind  word  for  every  one  with  whom  he  had  been  as- 
sociated— the  clergy,  the  press,  the  ushers,  the  choir.  He  com- 
mended all  to  the  care  of  God,  and  bade  them  not  farewell,  but 
good-night,  and  hoped  to  meet  them  all  on  the  morning  of  the 
resurrection. 

'J'he  choir  was  very  fully  represented,  and  sung  their  hymns 
with  even  more  spirit  than  usual.  The  airs  of  the  gospel  hymns 
ire  attractive  enough  even  with  indifferent  singers,  but  rendered 
v. ith  a  well-trained  choir,  the  real  beauty  of  the  compositions 
appears. 

"Old  Hundred  "  was  sung  by  all  at  the  conclusion  of  the  ser- 
vices. Then  several  meetings  were  held  in  the  adjoining  rooms. 
In  the  hall  thousands  of  people  lingered  for  fully  an  hour  after 


THE    •  ()   I'EI.    IN    CHICAGO.  (i  I  7 

the  close  of  the  meeting,  and  engaged  in  conversation,  and  in« 
dulging  in  pleasant  partings.  It  was  like  the  breaking  up  of  a 
large  family  who  had  become  bound  to  one  another  by  a  com- 
mon love,  and  who  desired  to  linger  as  long  as  possible  around 
the  spot  where  they  had  found  so  much  happiness  and  spent  so 
many  happy  hours.  By  and  by,  however,  the  night  grew  old, 
the  lights  were  turned  down,  and  the  curtain  dropped  upon 
this,  the  most  remarkable  series  of  religious  meetings  ever  held 
in  the  Northwest. 

Estimates  of  Mr.  Moody  and  of  the  Work. 

It  is  interesting  to  clip  the  various  notices  of  men's  impress- 
ions, who  observed  the  progress  of  these  services  from  secular 
and  religious  stand-points : 

Mr.  Spu.rgeon  says:  We  rejoice  to  mention  th?t  during  the 
last  few  months  we  have  met  with  more  converts  from  Messrs. 
Moody  and  Sankey's  than  in  all  the  lime  before.  Some  of  our 
brethren  have  also  made  the  same  observation.  It  is  probable 
that  many  held  back  till  they  saw  where  it  was  best  for  them  to 
join,  and  if  so  they  are  to  be  commended.  We  expressed  our 
disappointment  very  plainly  some  time  ago,  because  we  met 
with  so  few  decided  conversions  ;  and  it  is  therefore  with  the 
utmost  pleasure  that  we  intimate  more  pleasing  tidings.  We 
could  not  believe  that  such  earnest  gospel  preaching  could  be 
without  saving  result,  but  we  feared  that  the  converts  would 
remain  separate,  and  not  unite  with  the  churches.  For  awhile 
it  seemed  to  be  so,  but  we  are  delighted  to  have  seen  and  con- 
versed with  many  who  make  good  disciples  and  hearty  workers. 
God  be  thanked  for  this  evermore. 

A  paper  speaks  of  the  probable  number  of  converts  as  four 
thousand  and  adds : 

Wliit  is  better,  the  work  is  likely  to  be  prosecuted  with,  as  is 
more  than  probable,  redoubled  vigor.  Christian  individuals  a:id 
Christian  organizations  in  Chicago  are  now  thoroughly  alive  to 
their  responsibilities  and  privileges;  vital  Christianity  has  a 
name  and  an  influence  not  only  in  Chicago  but  the  whole  North- 
west, which  it  never  had  before. 


6l8  MOODY    AXD    SANKKY    IN    AMERICA. 

Many  of  the  clergy  and  the  laity  have  received  from  Brother 
Moody,  or  rather  through  him,  a  new  revelation  of  the  privileges 
and  duties  of  the  Christian  life,  and  of  the  value  of,  and  the 
method  of  studying  and  using,  the  Bible.  The  churches  that 
have  co-operated  in  this  work  have  been  brought  into  more 
friendly  relations  with  each  other,  and  individuals  who  never 
thought  of  doing  anything  beyond  attending  divine  worship  are 
beginning  to  trim  their  lamps,  remove  the  bushels  from  them, 
and  do  some  religious  work  in  their  own  families  and  among 
their  friends.  This  effect  of  the  meetings  admits  of  no  tabular 
statement,  but  all  the  pastors  who  have  assisted  Messrs.  Moody 
and  Sankey  bear  united  testimony  to  the  fact  that  their  churches 
never  before  felt  so  much  religious  interest  or  did  so  much  re- 
ligious work  as  within  the  last  two  months.  The  evangelists 
have  done  their  work  of  awakening  the  sleepers,  and  it  now  lies 
with  the  pastors  and  churches  of  the  city  to  determine  whether 
or  not  the  revival  shall  have  all  the  results  hoped  for. 

So  long  as  human  nature  remains  the  same,  every  subject  of 
great  interest  to  the  community,  and  especially  so  important  a 
subject  as  religion,  or  a  man's  eternal  condition,  will  have  its 
excitements.  They  are  incident  to  our  natures.  Their  useful- 
ness is  not  to  be  measured  by  their  continuance.  Summer  and 
winter,  day  and  night,  springtime  and  harvest,  will  endure  till 
the  end  of  all  things.  Yet  the  spring,  with  its  rains  and  showers, 
is  not  less  useful  because  it  is  succeeded  by  the  warmth  and 
drought  of  summer,  or  by  autumn  and  winter.  Its  good  effect 
remains.  So  with  revivals  of  religion.  But  what  is  needed  es- 
pecially is  that  while  the  ground  is  broken  up  with  Brother 
Moody's  great  plow,  or  those  of  some  other  efficient  laborers  in 
the  Lord's  vineyard,  and  the  ground  is  made  tender  by  the 
showers  of  grace,  that  it  should  be  deeply  and  indelibly  im- 
pressed upon  us  that  all  religion  has  relation  to  life,  and  the 
'life  of  religion  is  to  do  good — to  make  mankind  better — more 
full  of  the  love  of  the  neighbor ;  more  careful  to  cease  to  do 
evil  ;  more  careful  of  the  feelings  and  rights  of  others  ;  more  con- 
scientious in  all  the  walks  of  life  ;  better  husbands,  wives, 
fathers,  children,  and  citizens — in  fine,  more  anxious  and  care- 


THE   CO^PEF,    IN    CHICAGO.  619 

ful  to  endeavor  to  do  unto  others  as  we  would  have  them  do 
unto  us  ;  more  regardful  of  our  duty  as  laid  ciown  in  the  Bible, 
that  Book  which  is  to  Christians  the  only  absolutely  reliable 
code  of  faith  and  practice.  Let  those  who  fear  that  the  effect 
of  the  revival  may  be  evanescent  turn  their  attention  to  the 
careful  cultivation  of  the  ground  now  being  broken  up,  and 
verily  we  shall  all  see  that  those  who  sow  in  tears  may  reap  in 
joy. 

The  meetings  have  been  free  from  excitement,  unless  all  very 
earnest  and  serious  religious  feeling  is  to  be  termed  excitement. 
The  converts  are  such  because  they  have  been  persuaded  to 
become  so.  That  others  do  not  share  their  feelings  is  no  evi- 
dence that  the  convictions  produced  are  insincere  or  unhealthy. 
There  has  been  little  or  nothing  that  could  fairly  be  called  an 
effort  to  move  the  emotions  simply.  Brother  Moody  preaches 
salvation  by  faith  in  Christ,  but  he  has  repeatedly  said  that  the 
Bible  contains  no  word  giving  the  idea  that  salvation  depends 
on  any  one's  feelings.  He  has  sought  to  persuade  men  to  be- 
lieve the  commands  and  promises  of  the  Bible,  and  to  believe 
that  they  are  sinners,  and  that  they  are  pardoned  because  the 
Bible  says  so,  and  not  on  account  of  any  peculiar  feelings  they 
may  have.  As  he  has  avoided  using  the  lash  of  fear,  so  he  has 
avoided  the  stimulation  of  purely  subjective  sensations. 

Finney  and  the  old  revivalists,  as  we  know,  bore  down  on  the 
hosts  of  sin  with  the  thunders  and  lightnings  of  Sinai.  Finney's 
depictions  of  the  condition  of  the  damned,  which  were  always 
a  part  of  his  course  of  revival  sermons,  were  to  the  last  degree 
frightful  and  appalling.  Of  this  we  hear  next  to  nothing  in 
these  revival  meetings.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  final 
doom  of  sin  is  ignored,  but  that  it  is  not  made  prominent. 
And  yet  the  constant  elevation  of  spiritual  tone,  the  daily  addi- 
tional clearness  of  the  moral  and  spiritual  atmosphere  in  these 
meetings,  is  something  very  wonderful  and  very  delightful.  It 
is  a  new  phenomenon — a  new  revelation.  The  Spirit  of  God 
seems  to  be  almost  visibly  pervading  the  great  congregations  ; 
and  thus  the  worship  gives  a  very  good  idea  of  the  calm,  quiet 
blessedness  of  the  better  world. 


620  MOODY    A\I)    SAXKEV    IN    AMERICA. 

Brother  Moody  has  made  no  secret  of  his  belief  that  eternal 
perdition  is  in  store  for  those  who  die  unconverted,  but  in  his 
sermons  he  has  made  few  references  to  the  lake  of  fire.  He 
has  rather  preached  that  the  way  of  the  transgressor  was  harder 
in  this  life  than  that  of  the  righteous.  He  has  depicted  the 
pleasures  of  a  Christian  life  and  the  joy  and  peace  of  believing, 
rather  than  the  torments  of  the  next  world.  In  his  mind  the 
Christian  life  is  so  much  happier  than  the  unchristian  life  that 
the  two  have  only  to  be  contrasted  to  insure  the  acceptance  of 
the  former.  He  presents  the  religious  life  rather  as  a  pleasure 
that  men  deny  themselves  of  than  a  duty  they  ought  to  assume, 
or  an  avenue  to  escape  from  destruction. 

The  source  of  Brother  Moody "s  power  is  a  great  puzzle  to 
many.  His  Christian  friends  say  that  it  is  the  presence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  To  his  non-Christian  hearers  this  conveys  little 
idea;  or  at  least  raises  the  question  why  the  Almighty  should 
select  him  as  the  recipient  of  especial  blessings.  This  brings 
the  question  back  from  the  celestial  to  the  terrestrial  regions, 
and  admits  of  being  treated  in  terms  of  ordinary  criticism.  His 
wonderful  familiarity  with  the  Bible  explains  much  of  his  suc- 
cess. He  meets  every  emergency,  doubt,  or  objection  with  a 
passage  of  scripture  which  is  either  in  his  head,  or  can  be  in- 
stantly found  in  his  well-thumbed  and  well-marked  Bible,  and 
he  lays  down  scripture  with  a  conviction  that  breeds  conviction. 
His  intense  earnestness  and  his  broad  human  sympathies  give 
him  power.  His  simplicity  keeps  the  listener's  mind  to  the 
point  of  the  discourse.  His  experience  as  a  lay  preacher  on 
the  North  side  gave  him  an  insight  into  human  nature  that  many 
a  learned  doctor  of  divinity  never  acquired.  The  listener  fre- 
quently finds  himself  surprised  at  the  correctness  of  the  diagno- 
sis of  his  case  made  by  a  man  wiih  whom  he  has  never  ex- 
changed a  word.  His  illustrations  are  forcible,  never  low  or 
incongruous  though  always  homely,  and  remarkable  for  their 
aptness.  Many  a  clergyman  who  writes  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  alphabet  afier  his  name  mars  his  sermons  with  illustra- 
tions that  grate  on  one's  sense  of  fitness,  or  that  are  a  little  one 
side  of  the  point  to  be  made,  but  in  this  matter  Brother  Moody's 


THE   GOSPEL    IN    CIIICACO.  62 1 

instinct  is  unerrini;.  His  shrewdness  at  making;  "  hits  "  would 
be  of  great  value  to  a  stump  orator.  He  afforded  a  good  illus- 
tration of  this,  when  in  condemnini^  the  confession  of  sins  to 
human  mediators  he  said  that  the  only  man  mentioned  in  the 
Bible  as  confessing  his  sins  to  men  was  Judas,  and  he  went  out' 
at  once  and  hanged  himself. 

A  gentleman  thanks  an  editor  for  an  article  on  "  Mr.  Moody's 
Methods  "  and  says  : 

Your  analysis  of  his  power  and  summing-up  of  his  forces  is 
true,  clear,  generous,  and  comprehensive.  I  have  had  the  joy 
and  inspiration  of  an  intimate  friendship  with  him  since  the 
June  of  1861,  and  far  above  any  other  man  has  he  intensified, 
moulded,  and  shaped  my  being. 

Your  admirably  drawn  figure  of  pushing  his  Tabernacle 
audience  up  a  steep  grade,  so  that  no  one  shall  be  lost  or  drop 
off,  is  just  him,  and  as  he  makes  me  feel  and  has  from  my  first 
acquaintance.  This  great,  burning  desire  that  no  one  shall  be 
lost,  has  made  of  his  entire  Christian  career  a  consistent  uni- 
formity that  is  well  nigh  Pauline.  Nearly  ten  years  ago,  in  the 
days  of  his  sincere  roughness  (I  mean  occasional  roughness), 
I  was  somewhat  disturbed  by  what  seemed  to  me  quite  uncalled- 
for  remarks  on  two  occasions,  and  alone  told  him  frankly  how 
I  felt.  With  that  ten-tons  of  sympathy  that  his  face  is  so  often 
lighted  with,  he  exclaimed,  "  How  long  have  you  felt  this  way 
toward  me?"  I  replied  several  weeks.  Said  he,  "  I  always 
thought  you  were  a  Christian.  How  can  you  be  a  Christian 
and  not  have  come  to  me  to  have  this  wrong  feeling  removed  ? " 
He  dropped  upon  his  knees,  and  with  tears  streaming  from  his 
eye.s,  prayed  that  I  might  be  forgiven  for  not  having  come  to 
him  earlier  to  have  had  the  wrong  righted  and  he  be  kept  from 
injuring  the  feelings  of  any  one.  The  English  Sheridan  said 
of  Rowland  Hill  :  "  I  always  love  to  hear  Hill,  for  the  words 
come  red  hot  from  his  heart."  So  the  people  say  of  D.  L. 
I^Ioody.     God  bless  all  the  newspaper  reports. 

Says  another  :  I  believe  everybody  has  had  a  say  about  the 
secret  of  Moody's  power  but  me,  so  now  I  want  a  chance.  I 
do  not  think  any  one  has  made  a  "ten-strike"  yet.     The  real 


62  2  Mt>Ol>V    AND    SAN!;r.Y    IN    AMERICA. 

truth  is,  he  is  not  afraid  of  the  Devil !  In  an  address  not  long 
ago,  Mr.  Moody  said  he  *'  never  let  the  Devil  whisper  to  him." 
So,  of  course,  he  never  gets  a  chance  to  influence  him.  He 
saw  clearly,  twenty  years  ago,  that  there  were  only  two  sides  to 
this  life, — Christ's  side  or  the  Devil's  side.  He  then  and  there 
made  up  his  mind  never  to  be  caught  striding  the  fence.  He 
is  an  awful  "  stick-to-it  "  kind  of  a  man,  and  when  (by  the  help 
of  God)  he  got  the  serpent  under  his  feet  he  resolved  by  the 
same  power  to  keep  him  there. 

The  reason  so  many  let  him  get  the  "  upper  hand  "  again  is 
that  they  let  the  infernal  old  "  curse  of  the  world  "  ''  whisper  to 
them."  Mr.  Moody  never  gives  him  a  breathing-spell,  no  mat- 
ter how  hard  he  begs  or  what  he  tries  to  bribe  him  with  to  just 
step  off  for  a  minute.  He  can  wriggle  himself  clear  in  that 
time,  as  many  a  minister  has  found  to  his  sorrow.  When  Satan 
tries  that  trick  on  him,  he  just  plants  both  feet  fair  and  square, 
while  he  prays  the  Lord  to  "make  him  weigh  a  ton."  Once 
in  a  while  he  gives  an  extra  stamp  right  in  the  lying  miscre- 
ant's face. 

Last  Monday,  at  the  noon  prayer-meeting,  he  got  a  good  one 
between  the  eyes  when  Mr.  Moody  said  that  "  he  heard  a  great 
deal  of  talk  about  Christians  not  holding  out  well  who  were 
converted  at  revivals."  "  Now,"  said  he,  "I  want  to  know  how 
that  is  myself"  He  then  requested  all  who  had  been  converted 
during  revival  times  to  "stand  up."  Farwell  Hall  was  full, 
and  I  wo- thirds  of  the  people  rose  quickly  to  their  feet.  "  There," 
he  exclaimed,  "  that  gives  the  lie  to  the  Devil,  and  sends  it 
back  to  hell  where  it  came  from!  "  I  tell  you,  I  just  wanted 
to  jump  on  a  chair  and  shout,  "  Glory  to  God,  peace  on  earth 
and  good  will  to  everybody  but  the  Devil  !  "  I  believe  the 
people  would  have  shouted  the  roof  off  if  it  had  once  got 
started. 

It  is  no  mistake  that  Mr.  Moody  is  "rock-rooted  "  in  a  cer- 
tain belief,  and  that  belief  is :  All  a  man  has  to  do  to  get  Satan 
under  his  feet  and  keep  him  there,  is  to  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
and  "never  let  the  Devil  whisper  to  him." 

Said  a  smart  journalist:   In  the  first  place.  Brother  Moody  is 


THE    GOSI'EL    IN    CHICAt-O.  62;^ 

a  good  business  man.  He  made  his  first  start  in  life  as  an 
expert  salesman.  He  knows  how  to  talk  to  customers,  whether 
tliey  are  looking  for  dry  goods  or  religion,  and  has  a  most  happy 
faculty  of  convincing  them  that  the  present  is  an  excellent  time 
in  which  to  secure  bargains.  In  the  second  place,  he  conducts 
business  on  strictly  cash  principles.  The  building  he  occupii's 
is  never  an  expensive  one,  and  it  is  always  paid  for  before  it  is 
used.  He  does  not  believe  in  allowing  the  devil  to  have  a 
mortgage  on  the  building  in  which  he  preaches.  He  procures 
the  necessary  capital  for  the  season's  business  before  he  adver- 
tises. He  advertises  liberally  in  papers  of  wide  circulation,  in 
street-cars,  and  by  means  of  posters.  He  informs  the  people 
every  day  what  may  be  expected  on  the  day  following. 

He  never  tolerates  any  side-shows  in  the  nature  of  sociables, 
church  fairs,  or  sacred  theatricals.  He  pays  no  attention  to 
what  rivals  in  business  may  say  about  him.  He  conducts  busi- 
ness economically  for  all  concerned.  A  contribution-box  is  a 
piece  of  furniture  never  found  in  his  establishment.  A  sub- 
scription paper  is  never  passed  round  inviting  promises  to  pay. 
He  dispenses  with  the  costly  appliances  found  in  most  churches. 
He  acts  on  the  presumption  that  people  go  to  religious  meet- 
ings for  the  purpose  of  hearing  the  gospel  preached  and  not  to 
display  fine  clothes  or  hear  operatic  music.  They  hear  an  old- 
fashioned  gospel  preached  in  so  old-fashioned  a  way  that  it 
appears  absolutely  new  to  them.  If  any  one  does  not  want  to 
hear  the  gospel  preached  he  had  better  keep  away  from  Brother 
Moody's  meetings.  There  is  nothing  else  to  hear,  and  little 
that  is  attractive  to  see.  He  leaves  other  preachers  to  enter- 
tain their  hearers  with  lectures  on  art,  science,  politics,  philoso- 
phy, or  with  reviews  of  new  books.  Brother  Moody  refers  to 
but  one  book  and  that  a  very  old  one. 

Chicago  is  justly  proud  of  Brother  Moody  and  rejoices  in  his 
success.  He  is  a  good  example  of  Chicago's  push,  pluck,  and 
enterprise.  He  knows  how  to  make  a  great  deal  out  of  a  small 
capital  by  conducting  afFliirs  economically  and  attending  strictly 
to  business. 

The  published  sermons  have  already  attracted   much  notice, 


624  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

and  the  new  volume  of  *'  Moody's  Sermons,  Addresses,  and 
prayers"  is  widely  circulated  ;  and  testimonies  to  its  usefulness 
are  multiplying.  A  clergyman  writes  that  he  has  learned  more 
from  the  sermon  on  the  "  Blood,"  or  "  Tracing  the  Scarlet 
Thread,"  than  from  reading  Watson's  Institutes  four  years 
Such  is  the  simple  scriptural ness  of  his  methods,  and  so  thor- 
oughly has  he  condensed  the  fundamental  things,  that  his  ser- 
mons cover  the  whole  ground  of  practical  theology.  A  gentle- 
man and  his  wife,  who  were  grieving  over  the  loss  of  their  two 
children  by  sudden  death,  were  pointed  to  the  sermon — "  The 
Friend  of  the  Sorrowing  " — and  so  delighted  were  they  that  they 
devoured  the  whole  book,  and  regard  Mr.  Moody  as  the  best 
of  men  and  sweetest  of  preachers,  though  they  had  before  looked 
on  him  with  indifference  or  contempt.  And  they  will  be  found 
to  give  an  edge  to  many  a  man's  preaching  and  teaching,  when 
they  are  more  widely  read  even  by  the  best  educated  and  most 
cultured.  The  poor  and  untutored  will  also  be  quickened  and 
instructed  by  them  as  by  no  other  discourses  ;  and  the  hard- 
ened and  careless  will  be  touched  and  moved,  as  they  follow  the 
tender-hearted  evangelist  from  step  to  step  in  his  preaching. 
They  bristle  with  strong  figures,  and  are  pictured  with  charm- 
ing incidents,  while  a  vigorous,  loving  nature  pours  out  its  full- 
ness on  every  page.  A  great  heart  yearns  to  win  men  to  Christ 
and  a  better  life,  that  all  may  finally  rest  at  home  in  the  bosom 
of  God,  which  is  Heaven. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 
Cultured  Boston  at  Jesus'  Feet. 

There  were  many  who  feared  that  the  evangelists,  whose 
career  had  hitherto  proved  an  unvarying  triumphal  march,  would 
fail  when  they  undertook  to  move  intellectual  Boston,  the  modern 
Athens,  the  Hub  of  the  Universe,  the  proud  seat  of  the  highest 
mental  culture  and  the  profoundest  liberalism  in  America,  and 
the  hot-bed  of  the  worst  isms  that  disgrace  our  times  and  dis- 
honor God.  But  no  prognostications  or  headshakings  dismayed 
our  sturdy  brethren,  who  believed  that  men  were  but  men,  what- 
ever their  position,  claims,  pretensions,  or  location,  and  as  such 
needed  the  Gospel,  and  who  knew  that  the  human  heart  was 
identical  the  world  over  and  could  be  moved  by  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus,  provided  only  God  was  present  to  bless  the  preach- 
ing of  His  word.  They  felt  that  they  were  called  of  God  to  hold 
up  Christ  in  the  metropolis  of  New  England  ;  and  doubtless  there 
was  a  secret  hope  stirring  within  them  that  it  would  be  peculiarly 
effective  to  present  the  Gospel  simply,  where  ii  had  so  long  been 
preached  elaborately  by  the  ablest  orators.  They  well  under- 
stood that  He  who  had  subdued  the  scholarly  Saul  of  Tarsus, 
could  bring  down  Boston's  giants,  and  they  relied  on  Him,  while 
they  gathered  around  them  all  the  learning,  talent,  culture,  and 
varied  ability  which  the  churches  could  offer,  and  made  their 
assault  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 

The  result  has  proved  the  common  sense,  and  justified  the 
faith  of  those  who  undertook  to  evangelize  the  chief  seat  of 
Unitarianism  and  infidelity  in  our  land.  Nowhere  has  the  move- 
ment been  crowned  with  richer  blessings,  and  their  success  has 
never  been  so  wonderful  as  here.  The  whole  community  has 
been  stirred  to  its  centres,  sneers  have  been  changed  to  wrath- 
ful assaults,  indifference  has  given  place  to  deep  concern, 
27 


626  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

churches  have  been  charged  with  vigorous  vitahty,  multitudes 
have  turned  to  God  and  begun  a  new  life,  and  the  congregations 
of  all  New  England  have  throbbed  with  the  excitement  of  the 
meetings  in  Boston.  These  victories  we  wish  to  trace  out,  and 
follow  up,  that  men  may  see  how  much  more  glorious  and  satis- 
fying are  the  Lord's  campaigns  and  battles,  than  those  which 
are  attended  with  slaughter  and  destruction. 

For  weeks  previous  to  the  advent  of  Moody  and  Sankey,  the 
Tabernacle  had  been  slowly  rising,  a  building  capable  of  seating 
comfortably  six  thousand  persons,  and  the  churches  had  been 
engaged  in  earnest  prayer  and  preparation.  Accordingly  when 
the  morning  of  January  28th,  1877,  came,  everything  was  in 
readiness  for  the  outpouring  of  the  people,  and  the  beginning  of 
the  work  with  power.  The  first  service  was  held  at  2.30  p.  m., 
in  presence  of  a  vast  concourse,  who  seemed  greatly  impressed 
by  the  singing  and  the  preaching.  The  great  choir  sung  their 
hymns  and  Mr.  Sankey  his  songs,  and  Mr.  Moody  preached 
with  characteristic  impetuosity  and  fervor.  Among  other  things 
he  said  :  When  we  came  to  Boston  some  people  told  me,  "  Mr. 
Moody,  we  must  give  you  a  little  warning ;  you  must  remember 
ihat  Boston  is  a  peculiar  place,  and  you  cannot  expect  to  do 
the  same  as  elsewhere  ;  there  are  a  great  many  obstacles."  It 
is  the  same  old  story,  the  same  old  human  nature.  Boston  is 
the  same  as  these  other  places.  They  are  all  alike,  but 
the  enemy  cannot  hinder  God  from  working  if  w-e  only  have 
faith.  With  God  all  things  are  possible.  This  terrible  unbelief 
God  can  shake  in  Boston  as  easy  as  a  mother  can  shake  her 
little  child.  We  can  do  all  things  through  His  power  and 
strength.  We  are  not  able  to  do  anything  of  our  own  power, 
but  with  God's  strength  we  can,  by  faith,  bring  down  a  blessing 
on  I3oston  and  all  New  England.  By  God's  help  we  can  have 
a  revival.  Are  we  not  able  to  rest  upon  God's  promises  and 
trust  him  implicitly  ?  This  habit  of  warning  eccentric  preach- 
ers would  seem  to  be  an  old  one  in  Boston,  as  many  years  ago, 
when  Jacob  Knapp  began  his  preachings  there,  a  minister  in 
whose  church  he  was  to  preach,  took  him  solemnly  to  task  for 
his  odd   sayings,  and  begged   iiim  to  leave  them  out  of  his  dis- 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEET   OF   JESUS.  627 

courses  as  they  would  offend  the  polite  Bostonians.  "  Why," 
said  the  elder,  *'  If  I  should  leave  the  Knapp  out  of  my  ser- 
mons, they  would  be  as  threadbare  as  yours."  Tradition  says 
he  was  not  warned  again.  In  the  evening,  so  mighty  were  the 
throngs  that  sought  admission,  that  overflow  meetings  were  or- 
^  ganized  in  neighboring  churches,  and  Mr.  Moody  cried  out  in 
the  midst  of  his  sermon  on  Courage  : 

Christianity  has  been  on  the  defensive  long  enough,  espe- 
cially here  in  New  England  ;  the  time  has  come  for  us  to  open 
a  war  of  aggression.  You  know  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion 
some  of  the  generals  kept  their  armies  in  camp  on  the  defensive 
until  they  got  demoralized.  And  a  good  many  Christians  here 
in  New  England  have  got  into  their  cushioned  pews  and  gone 
to  sleep.  Now  is  the  time  to  wake  up  and  move  forward  in 
solid  columns.  We  want  not  to  be  on  the  defensive  but  to 
begin  a  war  of  aggression.  These  drinking  shops,  these  bil- 
liard halls,  these  gambling  dens,  should  be  visited  and  told  of 
Christ  and  heaven.  If  they  won't  come  to  the  Tabernacle  and 
hear  the  Gospel,  let  us  go  to  their  houses  and  preach  the  Gospel 
to  them,  and  it  won't  be  long  before  hundreds  of  them  are 
reached.  I  want  to  tell  you  something  that  took  place  in  Chi- 
cago. There  was  a  man  who  came  to  one  of  the  meetings  and 
got  out  and  didn't  come  back  ;  and  some  friends  went  out  to 
the  saloon  where  he  made  his  headquarters,  and  they  couldn't 
find  him.  At  last  they  left  a  card  for  him  and  headed  it  "  My 
dear  friend."  His  friends  had  all  left  him,  and  he  was  sinking 
rapidly  into  a  drunkard's  grave  ;  he  had  got  by  himself  and 
tiiought  his  end  was  near.  There  he  was,  a  poor  dying  drunk- 
ard, and  he  got  this  little  card — "  My  dear  friend,"  and  he  said, 
"  That's  singular.  Have  I  got  a  friend } "  and  the  card  said, 
"If  you  will  come  up  to  Burke's  Hotel  to-night  at  seven  o'clock 
I  would  like  to  see  you."  And  he  said  :  "  I  have  no  friend. 
What  does  that  mean?"  That  went  down  like  an  arrow  into 
his  soul;  it  burned  into  his  soul — "My  dear  friend!"  He 
said  to  himself  that  he  would  get  somebody  else  to  go,  for  he 
had  got  drunk,  and  his  eye  was  black,  and  there  was  a  bruise 
on  his  nose.     But  he  couldn't  get  anybody  to  go  for  him  and 


628  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

SO  he  had  to  go  for  himself;  and  when  he  got  to  the  hotel  he 
got  behind  a  post  and  he  saw  a  man  come  out  that  he  saw  in 
the  Tabernacle,  and  he  supposed  that  was  the  man  and  he  said, 
''  Is  your  name  Hawley  ? "  and  then  he  said,  *'  I  want  you  to 
come  down  to  the  Tabernacle,"  and  he  said,  "  Don't  you  see  I 
have  a  black  eye  and  the  skin  off  my  nose?  "  "  Well,"  he  said, 
*'  I  want  you  to  go,"  and  the  man  said,  ''Well,  I  couldn't  stop 
there  without  going  out  to  get  a  drink."  Ah  !  he  was  such  a 
slave  to  drink  that  he  couldn't  even  sit  there  for  an  hour  with- 
out wanting  to  go  out  and  get  a  drink  !  "  Well,"  said  the  friend, 
"  come  and  go  into  the  gallery  and  get  behind  a  post,  and  they 
won't  see  you."  And  he  went  and  the  Spirit  of  God  met  him, 
and  that  night  he  went  into  the  inquiry  room,  and  to-day  he  is 
one  of  the  brightest  lights  in  Chicago,  and  when  we  left  he  was 
working  for  God  in  Chicago  and  telling  the  people  what  God 
had  done  for  him.  Now,  I  just  tell  you  this  to  show  you  how 
this  man  went  down  into  the  very  jaws  of  hell  for  a  fellow-man. 
We  want  not  to  open  these  doors  to  say  "  Come  in  and  be  saved, 
or  stay  out  and  be  lost,"  but  if  they  won't  come  let  us  go  witli 
the  torch  of  salvation  and  light  them  to  the  kingdom  of  God. 
There  are  thousands  here  waiting  for  some  one  to  tell  them  of 
Christ  and  His  love,  to  lift  them  up.  The  Gospel  has  not  lost 
its  power.  Thank  God,  friends,  there  is  as  much  power  in  the 
Gospel  to  save  men  as  ever  there  was.  They  have  been 
chained  by  sin  and  are  held  by  the  enemy,  and  we  want  to  tell 
them  that  the  Son  of  God  has  power  on  earth  to  snap  the  fet- 
ters and  set  the  prisoner  free,  power  to  forgive  the  sinner  on 
earth.  Let  us  arise,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  carry  the  Gos- 
pel to  every  house  in  the  city  of  Boston.  With  such  heroic 
confidence  was  the  battle  joined  by  the  servants  of  Christ,  who 
did  not  leave  them  to  prosecute  the  war  alone  but  helped  them 
to  the  end  and  gave  them  blessed  triumphs.  James  Freeman 
Clarke,  the  ablest  uncvangelical  preacher  in  the  country,  and  a 
true  man,  said,  before  Mr.  Moody  came,  that  he  could  not  do 
these  things  without  Divine  coiipcration.  God  must  be  with  him. 
And  truly  the  evidence  is  complete  that  the  Holy  Spirit  stands 
behind  him,   and  makes    him  "mighty    through  God."      The 


BOSTON  AT  THK  FEKT  UK  JKSUS.  629 

clergy  rallied  with  commendable  unanimity  to  the  leader's  call, 
and  stood  firmly  and  affectionately  together,  ready  for  any  ser- 
vice and  every  emergency.  Such  a  splendid  body  of  men  ani- 
mated by  a  common  purpose,  and  under  a  wise  and  brave 
leadership,  are  able  to  accomplish  miracles  of  benevolence  and 
salvation.  There  came  a  time  in  the  course  of  the  meetings 
when  there  occurred  a  state  of  things  admirably  described  by 
one  of  the  workers  : 

We  feel  that  the  revival  work  has  reached  a  crisis.  We  have 
entered  the  Wilderness  and  are  marching  toward  the  Sea.  So 
still  and  solemn  are  the  hour  and  the  work  that  we  hold  our 
breath,  clasp  hands  in  agonizing  prayer,  and  wait  upon  God  day 
and  night.  A  meeting  for  Christians  only,  assembles  on  each 
afternoon  this  week,  and  for  prayer  alone.  The  general  feeling 
is  expressed  by  the  remark  that  we  have  penetrated  the  outer 
entrenchments,  moat,  and  drawbridge,  and  find  ourselves  con- 
fronted by  a  massive  and  frowning  wall.  In  other  places  where 
the  evangelists  have  labored,  there  have  been  intersecting  veins 
of  infidelity  and  rationalistic  error,  but  here  they  exist  as  a  solid 
and  organized  obstruction,  imbedded  in  habit  and  tradition, 
buttressed  by  social  and  intellectual  culture,  confident  in  vast 
numerical  majorities,  and  at  many  points  flying  the  flag  of  a 
professed  Christianity.  Numbers  press  even  into  the  inquiry 
rooms,  whose  whole  nature  is  a  sneer,  and  whose  behavior  is  a 
scoff.  Even  of  the  genuine  inquirers,  whom  restlessness  drives 
thither,  a  large  proportion  give  us  a  despairing  feeling,  from  the 
fact  that  we  cannot  find  the  joint  in  the  armor  of  their  unbelief, 
a  purchase  for  the  lever  of  the  Word.  We  open  our  Bibles  and 
read  the  divine  prescription  for  their  specific  ailment,  and  are 
met  immediately  by  the  remark,  "  O,  I  don't  believe  one  word  of 
that."  We  propose  to  pray  for  and  with  them,  and  they  ask, 
"  What  is  prayer  >  "  and  tell  us  they  do  not  wish  us  to  "  dic- 
tate "  to  God  about  them.  Not  infrequently  the  Spirit,  going 
before  the  Word,  prepares  the  way  for  its  entrance,  and  not  a 
few  of  the  most  abject  unbelievers  have  been  slain  by  the  sword 
and  brought  to  a  saving  faith  in  Jesus.  But  as  yet  the  arm  of 
the  Lord  has  not  been  revealed  as  in  the  ancient  days  and  in 


630  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

the  generations  of  old.  And  this  week  is  being  devoted  to  a 
cry  unto  the  Lord,  with  our  faces  in  the  dust,  to  '* awake  and 
put  on  strength,"  as  when  His  right  arm  wounded  the  Dragon 
of  the  Nile,  and  made  the  depths  of  the  sea  a  way  for  the 
ransomed  to  pass  over. 

The  elements  of  opposition  are  well  represented  in  a  single 
newspaper.  Its  first  page  is  covered  with  a  profusely  illustrated 
travesty  of  the  Tabernacle  scenes  and  sayings.  The  writer 
handles  a  clever  pencil  for  caricature,  and  the  pen-work  is  such 
as  to  delight  the  vulgar  taste  for  burlesque.  The  "  hits  "  are 
of  the  broadest  and  most  unscrupulous  kind.  Mr.  Moody's 
anecdotes  and  illustrations  are  distorted,  his  remarks  misquoted, 
and  his  most  effective  utterances  turned  into  ridicule,  and  a 
great  deal  is  imputed  to  him  and  reported  of  the  meetings  which 
has  not  the  slightest  foundation  in  fact.  Of  course  every  mis- 
take is  a  devil-send  to  the  writer.  Not  content  with  ridicule, 
the  editorial  department  of  this  "loafers'  paper"  has  begun  a 
series  of  sensational  "charges"  against  Mr.  Moody,  such  as 
characterized  the  late  political  canvass.  It  accuses  him  of 
deliberate  lying,  and  the  wholesale  manufacture  of  affecting  and 
marvellous  stories.  The  last  number  of  the  paper  professes  to 
have  unearthed  at  Northfield  the  evidence  that  he  is  making 
himself  rich,  and  is  secretly  investing  his  gains.  This  sort  of 
opposition  is  very  prevalent,  and  the  chorus  of  it  is  rising  into 
a  louder  and  more  pandemoniac  yell.  It  prevails  not  only  in 
bar-rooms  and  gambling-hells,  but  in  bank  offices,  workshops 
and  factories,  and  in  the  gatherings  of  Harvard  students. 

The  second  element  of  opposition  is  represented  in  this 
paper  by  the  reported  sermons  and  addresses  of  a  pastor  of  one 
of  the  most  prominent  Unitarian  churches.  These  consist  of 
attacks  as  unscrupulous  and,  if  possible,  more  bitter,  certainly 
far  abler,  than  those  to  which  I  have  referred.  Though,  I  am 
glad  to  learn,  not  speaking  the  united  voice  of  his  own  church, 
this  miserable  man,  crazy  with  rancor  against  the  truth  which 
he  once  professed  (though  never  seems  to  have  understood), 
added  to  an  insatiate  craving  for  sensational  notoriety,  does 
represent  an  immense  constituency  in  all  this  region  who  have 


BOSTON    AT   TIIK    FEET   OK    JESUS.  63 1 

walked  in  the  ways  of  Theodore  Parker,  and  who  constitute  the 
dt'bris  of  the  elegant  Unitarianism  of  Channing  and  Ware. 

Within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  Tabernacle  stand  two  imposing 
structures,  the  one  on  a  corner  and  the  other  close  at  its  back, 
though  fronting  on  a  different  street.  The  foremost  of  these 
"  halls  "  is  the  "  Parker  Memorial,"  and  the  one  which  lurks 
behind  in  its  shadow  is  the  "Paine  Memorial."  Their  relative 
positions  are  significant.  On  the  ground  story  of  the  latter  is  a 
book-store,  whose  window  is  stocked  with  Tom  Paine's  books 
of  course,  and  other  infidel  writings,  pamphlets  on  spiritualism, 
pictures  representing  religion  as  a  ghoul  in  a  church-yard,  and 
thc^  church  as  a  steeple  struck  by  lightning  and  toppling  over, 
caricatures  of  the  Tabernacle  work  and  workers,  and,  profusely 
scattered,  the  portraits  of  that  blatant  atheist  Col.  Bob  Inger- 
soll  !  These  two  buildings  have  looked  silently  down  on  the 
surging  crowds  of  the  Tabernacle  and  Berkeley  Street  Church 
as  if  confident  in  their  iceberg  mass  and  influence.  It  is  en- 
couraging to  have  their  ominous  stillness  broken.  But  O,  shall 
such  a  strain  be  exerted  upon  them,  and  such  a  melting  and 
honey-combing  heat  go  from  the  revival  gulf  stream,  as  shall 
cause  them  to  lean  and  dip  and  dive  and  disappear  ?  It  is  for 
this  that  we  ask  the  prayers  of  the  Christian  world. 

The  third  element  of  opposition  is  represented  by  a  skilful 
Unitarian  writer,  who  is  chiefly  a  man  of  the  world,  and  speaks 
for  what  remains  of  primitive  Unitarianism. 

The  final  element  of  opposition  arises  from  a  reverend  horse- 
breeder's  '^  prayer  meeting  talks  "  which  are  duly  reported  in  the 
organ  of  Satan. 

Sailing  under  the  flag  of  orthodoxy,  he  manages  to  render 
himself  obnoxious  to  no  form  of  heresy  or  unbelief;  professing 
to  interpret  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  he  sows  to  the  flesh.  His 
last  talk  was  an  earnest  appeal  to  his  people  to  beware  of  get- 
ting excited  on  the  subject  of  religion,  and  an  argument  to  show 
what  a  transcendent  means  of  grace  it  was  not  to  go  to  church 
or  to  religious  meetings.  He  is  an  extreme  specimen,  I  am  well 
aware,  but  he  represents  that  element  of  obstruction  which  is 
really  the  most  dangerous,  the  traitor  within  the  camp,  the  fatal 


C32  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

inertia  of  a  dead  and  indifferent  church,  an  emasculated  gos- 
pel, a  practical  unbelief  in  the  guilt  of  sin  and  the  eternal  justice 
of  God. 

Meanwhile,  the  humble  evangelist  moves  on  undaunted,  fitting 
his  five  smooth  stones  to  his  well-worn  sling,  and  gathering  at 
every  revolution  of  his  arm  new  power  and  aim.  Shall  the 
vulnerable  forehead  of  the  many-faced  giant  be  found.? 

One  of  the  strong  evidences  that  the  work  of  Mr.  Moody  is 
of  God,  is  afforded  by  the  extent  to  which  his  evangelistic  labors 
have  aroused  the  hostility  of  those  who  may  be  styled  the  "bar- 
room "  class.  When  Mr.  Moody  was  in  New  York,  his  work 
was  probably  as  much  talked  of  in  the  drinking-saloon  as  in  the 
Christian  family  circle.  One  could  scarcely  enter  even  a  so- 
called  "respectable"  restaurant  of  the  ordinary  bar-room  type, 
without  hearing  it  discussed  with  ribald  jest  and  coarse  allusion. 
The  arrows  of  truth  had  been  shot  with  a  vigor  which  sent  them 
far  beyond  the  ordinary  bounds  reached  by  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel,  and  their  sharp  sting  had  caused  no  small  stir  among 
the  armies  of  Satan.  This  was  not  done  without  producing 
some  good  results,  in  quarters  least  expected..  Many  genuine 
conversions  occurred  among  this  very  class,  which  is  generally 
looked  upon  as  the  most  difficult  to  reach  of  any. 

All  this  served  only  to  awaken  public  attention  to  the  central 
truths  that  were  maligned,  and  compelled  people  to  hear  for 
themselves  and  observe  the  plans  which  were  pursued  by  the 
evangelists  and  their  helpers.  Mr.  Moody  seldom  notices  any 
attacks  made  on  him  or  his  labors,  but  keeps  steadily  holding 
up  the  Gospel  and  Him  who  is  its  life  and  soul.  He  knows  that 
God  is  able  to  defend  His  servant,  and  will  raise  up  men  to 
keep  the  enemy  occupied  while  he  saves  the  lost.  His  best 
vindication  is  ever  the  purity  of  his  own  character  and  living, 
and  the  salvation  of  souls.  If  men  arc  redeemed  and  Christians 
exalted  to  a  higher  plane  of  holiness  and  activity,  his  enemies 
will  have  nothing  to  say  that  will  weigh  a  feather  in  the  scale. 

It  was  regarded  as  a  most  fortunate  circumstance  that  previous 
to  the  Tabernacle  meetings  the  Rev.  Joseph  Cook  had  been 
engaged   in  delivering  a  course  of  lectures  on  vital   topics  of 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEET   OF   JESUS.  633 

Christianity  to  the  ministers  and  thoughtful  people  of  Boston  in 
Tremont  Temple,  and  these  logical  and  profound,  as  well  as 
brilliant  discourses  had  created  immense  enthusiasm,  and  com- 
manded the  respectful  attention  of  men  of  science  as  well  as 
people  of  theological  learning.  Here  was  genius  and  oratory 
compelling  men  to  see  that  religion  and  the  evangelical  faith 
rested  on  the  most  substantial  basis  of  reason,  while  Parkerism 
and  liberalism  were  narrow,  illogical  and  false.  Thus  while  the 
thunders  of  Cook  were  heard  on  one  side  calling  men  to  aban- 
don their  unbelief  which  was  unreasonable  and  absurd,  the 
tender  pathos  and  burning  zeal  of  Moody  on  the  other  side  were 
winning  men  to  believe  and  rejoice  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Thus  they  complemented  one  another,  as  the  eloquence  and 
learning  of  Paul  filled  out  the  measure  of  apostolic  perfection, 
and  supplemented  the  Gospels  in  their  simplicity  by  the  schol- 
arly and  logical  Epistles. 

How  beautifully  God  uses  all  the  talents  and  resources  of 
His  people  to  complete  His  work  I  When  Cook  preached  in 
the  Tabernacle  on  Monday  evenings,  the  common  people  were 
not  there  to  hear.  No  one  but  the  homely  evangelist  could 
pack  it  day  and  night,  month  after  month.  The  late  Albert 
Barnes  treats  of  the  "  kind  of  preaching  that  this  age  demands  ; 
or  the  kind  of  ministry  fitted  to  the  times  in  which  we  live." 

"  The  times,"  he  maintains,  "  demand  of  the  ministry,  a 
close,  and  patient,  and  honest  investigation  of  the  Bible.  .  . 
The  truths  which  the  ministry  is  to  present,  are  to  be  derived 
from  the  word  of  God.  They  are  not  the  truths  of  mental  phi- 
losophy ;  they  are  not  the  theories  formed  by  a  fertile  imagina- 
tion ;  they  are  not  the  opinions  held  by  men  ;  they  are  not  sys- 
tems embodied  merely  in  creeds  and  symbols  ;  they  are  the 
evet'-fresh  and ri'cr-liv'uig  truths  of  the  Bible.'"  .  .  "  It  seems  to 
me,"  he  says,  "  that  as  yet  we  know  comparatively  little  of  the 
power  of  preaching  the  truths  of  the  Bible.  That  man  has 
gained  much  as  a  preacher  who  is  willing  to  investigate,  by 
honest  rules,  the  meaning  of  the  Bible,  and  then  to  suffer  the 
truth  of  God  to  speak  out — no  matter  where  it  leads,  and  no 
matter  on  what  man,  or  customs,  or  systems  it  impinges.     Let 

27* 


634  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

it  take  its  course  like  an  unobstructed  stream,  or  like  a  beam 
of  light  direct  from  the  sun  to  the  eyes  of  men."  .  .  . 
"  There  is  a  power  yet  to  be  seen  in  preaching  the  Bible,  which 
the  world  has  not  yet  fully  understood  ;  and  he  does  an  incal- 
culable service  to  his  own  times,  and  to  the  world,  who  derives 
the  truths  which  he  inculcates  directly  from  the  Book  of  Life." 

Has  not  Mr.  Moody's  great  gain  over  other  preachers  been  » 
just  in  this  direction,  and  an  eminent  illustration  of  Mr.  Barnes' 
clear  sight  and  just  statement  ?  The  Divine  blessing  so  eminent 
upon  his  labors,  is  an  emphatic,  an  authoritative  reiteration  of 
the  inspired  precept  "Preach  the  Word."  Mr.  Moody  seems 
to  us  to  be  permeated  and  saturated  with  the  "ever-fresh  and 
ever-living  truths  of  the  Word."  There  has  probably  never 
been  an  age  in  which  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  and  of  Christ 
as  "The  Word"  in  the  Word,  was  more  needed,  or  would  be 
more  effectual.  Formalism  and  philosophy,  skepticism,  care- 
lessness and  contempt,  are  most  certainly  slain  by  "  the  sword 
of  the  Spirit  which  is  the  Word  of  God," 

Progress. 

As  usual,  the  day's  work  began  with  noon  prayer-meetings, 
which  were  held  in  the  Tremont  Temple,  till  they  overflowed 
into  the  more  spacious  Tabernacle.  Young  men's  meetings 
were  organized,  and  women's  and  children's  meetings  sprang 
up,  as  by  necessity,  and  were  held  in  the  churches,  and  were 
led  by  various  pastors,  and  occasionally  by  Mr.  Moody,  whose 
presence  was  always  desired  at  every  place.  His  spirit  and 
manner  are  thus  described  : 

Mr.  Moody  spoke  at  the  main  meeting  only,  dwelling  on  the 
need  of  sanctifying  our  hearts  and  thoughts  to  Christ.  He  said 
that  Christians  are  often  ready  to  pray  for  others ;  but  they 
are  not  so  well  prepared  to  say  with  David,  "  O  Lord,  search 
me  and  know  me  ;  try  my  thoughts  and  my  heart."  First  of  all 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  must  be  purged  and  purified  from  iniquity. 
Tiien  the  blessing  of  God  will  come  with  power,  not  only  in  Bos- 
ton, but  throughout  all  New  England.  Without  enthusiasm,  he 
declared,  there  can  be  no  true  revival.     Here  in  Boston  people 


BOSlUN    AT   TIIK    FEKT   OF   JESUS.  G35 

have  come  to  be  a  little  afraid  of  enthusiasm  :  "but  I  have  seen 
this  city  all  on  fire  with  political  enthusiasm,"  said  Mr.  Moody, 
"when  Anthony  Burns  was  here.  Don't  be  afraid  to  be  too 
enthusiastic.  Let  all  have  the  faith  of  Gideon  and  his  army, 
and  what  a  glorious  work  can  be  accomplished.  The  world 
may  call  you  fiinatics,  but  I  don't  think  men  are  worth  much  as 
Christians  until  they  are  thought  mad  in  the  sight  of  the  world." 

At  the  Friday  temperance  meeting,  Mr.  Moody  read  a  letter 
which  he  had  received  when  he  was  in  Chicago,  from  a  minister 
in  England,  whose  son  was  a  wayward  profligate  somewhere  in 
that  city  and  who  had  been  found  at  last  in  the  inquiry  meeting 
and  brought  to  Christ.  He  read  the  letter  with  a  voice  husky 
with  emotion,  and  many  in  the  audience  were  deeply  aflected. 

The  silent  prayer  over,  Mr.  Moody  said  :  I  am  going  to  ask 
some  witnesses  to-day  to  testify  that  what  I  said  of  the  saving 
power  of  Christ  in  cases  of  intemperance  was  true.  Some  men 
may  say  here,  That  is  all  very  well,  men  may  talk  about  aban- 
doning strong  drink  and  reforming,  but  if  they  had  my  appetite 
they  would  not  talk  in  that  confident  way.  But  I  say  right 
here,  we  are  not  to  have  confidence  in  the  flesh,  but  great  con- 
fidence in  God.  I  am  going  to  ask  Mr.  Shorey  to  testify  on 
this  one  point.  Mr.  Shorey,  a  middle-aged  man,  then  described 
his  experience  in  the  following  words  : 

My  dear  friends,  I  can  testify  to  this  power  of  God  to  save 
drunkards  and  all  who  come  to  Him.  I  have  been  a  victim  of 
intemperance  for  more  than  thirty  years  until  a  year  ago.  I 
had  tried  every  way.  I  had  signed  pledges  and  tried  to  get  rid 
of  this  appetite,  and  tried  to  overcome  this  terrible  curse  that 
was  upon  me.  I  joined  temperance  organizations,  but  only  to 
go  back  and  repeat  the  same  terrible  drinking.  I  was  going 
down  into  the  depths  lower  every  day.  Yes,  I  have  even  gone 
so  far  as  to  be  locked  up  in  the  House  of  Correction,  I  came 
out  with  a  strong  resolution  to  reform.  But  I  could  not  stop  ; 
I  must  go  and  take  a  drink.  A  year  ago,  almost  dead,  I  left 
this  city.  I  knew  I  could  not  stop  drinking  for  my  appetite 
had  got  control  of  my  will.  I  knew  I  must  die  a  drunkard.  I 
knew  I  had  no  power  to  save  myself,  when  I  left  these  streets 


636  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

where  I  had  been  wandering  around  with  no  place  to  sleep,  no 
home,  no  friends,  for  I  had  disgraced  them  all.  Once  I  had 
friends — praying  friends — brothers  and  sisters,  but  I  had  dis- 
graced them  all.  When  I  left  here  it  was  in  utter  despair.  I 
thought  I  would  go  to  some  place  where  I  might  die  out  of 
sight.  I  started  for  New  York.  I  left  on  the  7th  of  February, 
just  a  year  ago.  I  was  reduced  to  such  an  extremity  that  I 
begged  a  pauper's  pass  to  arrive  at  New  York.  After  I  had 
been  there  a  few  days,  I  met  a  friend  of  mine  who  asked  me  to 
go  up  to  the  Hippodrome.  He  was  a  man,  one  of  my  kind  ; 
he  did  not  think  it  would  do  me  any  good,  but  he  only  went 
out  of  curiosity.  I  didn't  have  anywhere  else  to  go  and  so  I 
went  up  with  him.  I  sat  down  with  my  friend  in  that  assembly. 
At  first  I  did  not  pay  much  attention,  but  when  Mr.  Sankey  got 
up  and  sang  one  of  his  hymns,  ^'Oh,  what  shall  the  harvest 
be  ? '' — I  think  that  was  the  name  of  it — it  touched  a  chord  in 
my  heart  that  had  not  been  stirred  since  I  had  been  under  the 
influence  of  liquor.  And  then  Brother  Moody  preached  of  a 
poor  drunkard  way  down  in  the  gutter,  and  how  the  Lord  lifted 
him  up  and  freed  him  from  his  sins  and  his  impurity.  But  I 
said,  Oh,  Mr.  Moody  has  not  had  the  appetite  as  I  have  it ;  he 
does  not  know  anything  about  it.  I  went  out  of  that  meeting 
and  tried  to  drown  it  in  rum  ;  but  I  could  not.  I  kept  thinking 
of  that  sermon.  I  tried  to  get  out  of  town  that  day,  but  some 
kind  Providence  prevented.  I  went  again  the  next  night  and 
went  into  the  inquiry  room,  and  a  dear  sister  talked  to  me  about 
Jesus.  But  I  said  it  was  no  use,  I  cannot  be  a  Christian  until 
I  get  rid  of  this  appetite.  And  then  a  brother  came  up  and 
told  me  how  he  had  been  a  drunkard  and  how  he  had  been 
saved  by  the  power  of  God,  and  that  gave  me  hope,  and  I  knelt 
down  to  God  in  prayer  and  asked  Him  to  remove  this  appetite 
from  me  and  cleanse  me  from  sin  and  make  me  a  child  of  his, 
and  God  answered  my  prayer,  and  from  that  day  I  have  had  no 
desire  for  strong  drink,  nor  the  slightest  temptation  at  anytime. 
Oh,  God  is  able  to  keep  us  poor  men  jf  we  will  only  trust  in 
Him,  and  we  can  trust  in  Him.  I  will  only  say  one  word  more 
about  a  question  that  has  been  asked   me  a  great  many  times, 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  637 

how  to  save  these  dninkards.  I  say  go  to  them  yourselves,  as 
tlie  men  went  to  him  who  was  stricken  by  the  palsy.  Show  by 
your  love  to  them  that  you  care  for  their  souls,  and  they  will 
come  to  you  by  hundreds  and  thousands.  And  oh,  pray  for 
them  !  When  I  had  given  my  testimony  fn  New  York  as  I 
have  done  here,  a  gentleman  came  up  and  asked  me  my  name. 
I  told  him.  Are  you  a  son  of  Mr.  Shorey  in  Maine  .•*  he  said  ; 
and  then  he  told  me  that  a  few  years  ago  he  was  settled  near 
there.  And  he  \\&ni  into  my  father's  house  to  a  prayer  meeting 
and  my  father  wanted  him  to  pray  for  his  dissipated  son  in  New 
Orleans.  And  we  knelt  in  prayer.  And  oh,  he  said,  to  think 
that  I  should  meet  you  here  and  that  our  prayers  should  have 
been  answered.  Oh,  the  ways  of  God  are  wonderful.  Oh^  my 
dear  friends,  pray  for  these  men. 

Mr.  Moody  opened  the  small  copy  of  the  hymns  which  he  had 
always  by  him  at  the  Tabernacle,  and  read  : 

When  my  final  farewell  to  the  world  I  have  said 

And  gladly  lie  down  to  my  rest  ; 
When  softly  the  watchers  shall  say  "  Pie  is  dead" 

And  fold  my  pale  hands  o'er  my  breast  : 
And  when  with  my  glorified  vision  at  last 

The  walls  of  "  that  city"  I  see, 
Will  any  one  then  at  that  beautiful  gate, 

Be  waiting  and  watching  forme, 
Be  waiting  and  watching. 
Be  wailing  and  watching  for  me  ? 

Mr.  Sankey  then  sang  the  hymn. 

At  its  conclusion  Mr.  Moody  said  :  When  we  were  in  Chicago, 
a  St.  Louis  merchant  stopping  at  the  Grand  Pacific  Hotel  on 
some  business,  had  a  friend  who  had  got  to  drinking.  He  heard 
that  we  were  interested  in  trying  to  reach  and  reform  drinking 
men,  and  he  thought  he  would  try  to  get  him  to  come  into  the 
meeting.  The  man  had  not  been  into  a  meeting  for  twenty 
years.  The  last  six  months  he  had  been  studying  the  Gospel 
of  John,  and  trying  to  prove  that  it  ought  not  10  be  in  the  Bible, 
and  he  had  settled  it  in  his  own  mind  that  it  ought  not  to  be 
there.     He  went  to  the  meeting:  and  there  he  heard  this  hvmn 


638  MOODY   AND   SANKEY   IN   AMERICA. 

sung — "Watching  and  Waiting,"  and  he  wondered  if  any  one 
was  watching  and  waiting  for  him.  He  went  out  of  the  meet- 
ing but  he  could  not  get  "  Watching  and  Waiting"  out  of  his 
head.  And  he  went  to  the  hotel  and  ate  his  dinner,  and  all  the 
time  he  kept  saying  to  himself,  "  I  wonder  if  anybody  is  watch- 
ing and  waiting  for  me,"  and  when  night  came  he  went  to  sleep 
and  he  kept  tossing  on  his  bed  all  night  and  finally  he  got  up 
and  knelt  down  by  the  bed  and  prayed  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life.  He  prayed  that  Christ  would  have  mercy  on  him.  He 
said,  "  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  take  me  in  Thy  arms."  And  God 
heard  him,  and  now  he  is  one  of  the  very  best  workers  we  have. 
He  was  converted  on  the  eighth  day  of  October  ;  we  began  on 
the  first  day.  We  left  him  there  hard  at  work  for  Jesus,  and  I 
don't  know  how  many  souls  he  has  led  to  Christ.  I  hope  God 
will  bless  the  singing  of  this  hymn  to-day  to  some  skeptic  who 
may  have  come  in  here. 

When  we  pray  let  us  ask,  and  expect  that  we  are  going  to  get 
what  we  ask  for,  and  not  only  that,  you  would  be  very  much 
annoyed  if  some  one  should  wake  you  up  at  two  or  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  and  not  want  anything.  I  had  a  man  come  to 
my  house  at  that  hour,  and  he  knocked  and  rang  the  bell,  and 
kicked  on  the  door  so  as  to  make  the  whole  house  tremble.  I 
heard  him  then,  and  lifted  up  the  window  and  inquired  ;  '*  Who 
is  there  ?  "  He  told  me  his  name,  and  I  said  :  "  What  do  you 
want }  "  *'  Oh,"  he  said,  "  I  was  passing  through  Chicago  and 
thought  I  would  call  and  say  how  do  you  do?"  I  was  very 
much  provoked  at  the  idea  of  getting  out  of  bed  at  that  hour  to 
find  a  man  who  merely  wanted  to  ask  how  I  was.  Now,  my 
friends,  we  want  to  go  to  God  and  ask  for  something.  Bear  in 
mind,  if  it  don't  come  by  asking,  we  will  seek  until  we  find  out 
why ;  and  if  it  does  not  come  by  seeking,  let  us  knock  and  keep 
knocking  until  the  blessing  comes.  We  have  got  an  object  to- 
day before  us  ;  I  don't  know  of  any  meetings  which  touch  my 
heart  as  these  Friday  meetings.  I  don't  know  of  anything  that 
takes  hold  of  my  sympathies  and  heart  as  those  requests  to-day. 
Think  of  the  hundreds  of  homes  that  are  dark  and  cheerless,  and 
for  the  sake  not  only  of  these  heartbroken  wives  and   crushed 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  639 

and  wretched  mothers  and  their  little  children,  but  for  the  sake 
of  Christ,  let  us  pray  for  these  men  that  they  may  be  reclaimed. 
There  is  a  story  told  of  a  Governor  in  New  Jersey,  that  he  was 
sought  by  an  Irish  woman  to  release  a  man  that  was  to  he  hung  ; 
she  came  day  after  day  until  he  gave  orders  not  to  let  her  in  his 
office,  he  could  not  be  troubled  any  more  with  her  ;  but  one 
day  he  went  into  his  office  and  she  had  got  in  there  by  some 
strategy,  and  she  brought  her  ten  children  with  her ;  the  ten 
children  fell  on  their  knees  and  cried,  "Governor,  pardon  my 
father,"  and  the  mother  said,  "  For  the  sake  of  these  ten  chil- 
dren spare  the  life  of  my  husband."  It  touched  his  heart  and 
the  life  of  her  husband  was  spared.  For  the  sake  of  these  chil- 
dren and  the  bruised  and  broken-hearted  mother,  let  us  pray  to 
the  God  of  heaven  to  save  the  drunkard.  Let  us  have  faith  to 
pray.  Oh,  my  God,  mcrease  our  faith.  I  received  a  letter  yes- 
terday, and  as  I  read  it  I  said,  "  What  a  godsend,  it  will  do  for 
our  Friday  meeting  ;  "  it  has  come  to  cheer  the  mothers  of  New 
England,  and  I  wish  it  could  be  written  in  letters  of  gold  so  that 
every  person's  eyes,  when  they  fell  upon  it,  never  would  forget 
how  this  sister  and  mother  prayed  and  at  last  the  answer 
came. 

Saratoga  Springs,  February  6,  1S77. 

Mr.  Moody :  For  years  my  mother,  who  is  now  in  heaven, 
and  myself  have  been  praying  for  a  wayward  son  and  brother 
who  had  given  himself  up  to  the  demon  of  rum.  Since  my 
mother's  death  I  have  been  keeping  on  praying.  That  is  what 
1  call  knocking.  I  would  that  every  drunkard  had  some  sister 
that  would  keep  on  praying  after  his  mother  has  gone  down  to 
her  grave  with  a  broken  heart,  or  some  friend  that  would  not 
give  him  up — although  I  was  not  sure  whether  he  was  living  or 
not.  For  eighteen  years  I  have  not  seen  his  face.  This  winter 
I  have  prayed  that  he  might  be  led  by  the  providence  of  God 
to  some  of  the  religious  meetings  at  the  West,  for  if  he  was  liv- 
ing I  knew  he  was  there ;  and  with  strong  cries  1  have  asked 
the  Lord  to  take  from  him  the  appetite  for  rum.  Now,  dear 
brother,  hear  how  the  Lord  has  heard  and  blessed  his  soul  and 


640  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

mine.  On  the  27th  or  28th  day  of  November  last — for  he  writes 
to  me  on  New  Year's  day — he  found  himself,  he  knows  not 
how  he  wandered  there,  at  Chicago,  and  there  went  into  one  of 
your  meetings  and  was  impressed  with  the  truths  you  spoke  ; 
he  rose  for  prayer  and  went  into  the  inquiry-room,  and  the  Lord 
then  and  there  took  away  his  appetite  for  rum,  and  since  then 
he  has  been  resting  on  Jesus's  blood  ;  Jesus"s  blood  has  washed 
his  sins  away.  Oh,  wonderful  love  !  Oh,  wonderful  mercy  !  I 
write  this  to  ask  all  other  mothers  and  sisters  to  keep  on  pray- 
ing for  their  wandering,  intemperate  ones,  and  the  dear  Lord 
will  hear  their  cries  and  take  their  appetites  from  them,  so  long 
bound  in  chains,  and  when  Jesus  sees  our  faith  he  will  answer 

our  prayers.     My  brother's  name  was . 

Yours  in  Christ." 

Thank  God  for  a  Gospel  that  goes  down  into  the  slums  and 
picks  up  the  wanderers  and  the  prodigals.  If  there  is  a  prod- 
igal here,  God  loves  you,  young  man.  If  your  father  and 
mother  have  cast  you  off,  you  have  a  friend  who  will  never  leave 
you,  who  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother,  and  will  lift  you  up  if 
you  will  call  upon  Him.  O  !  may  the  God  of  all  grace  open 
your  eyes  to  see  the  loving  Saviour  that  is  knocking  at  your 
heart  to  come  in.  And  now  while  He  is  knocking  and  wanting 
to  come  in,  O  let  him  come  in. 

It  was  speedily  found  necessary  to  open  inquiry  meetings,  as 
the  gospel  began  to  search  the  hearts  of  men,  and  workers  were 
at  first  not  over  abundant,  and  a  sermon  was  preached  on  the 
subject,  in  the  course  of  which  the  evangelist  said  : 

People  have  asked,  "  Who  are  the  best  to  work  in  the  inquiry 
room  ?  "  1  answer,  those  that  know  the  way.  If  I  lost  my  way, 
and  I  asked  a  philosopher  and  he  could  not  tell  me,  or  a  police- 
man and  he  could  not  tell  me,  any  bootblack  would  be  just  the 
one,  if  he  knew,  to  tell  me.  I  would  want  to  know  the  way, 
and  if  a  man  does  not  know  the  way  he  would  not  be  any  good 
to  direct  me.  A  man  in  London  went  to  one  of  the  fountains 
in  the  street  that  has  a  secret  spring,  but  did  not  know  how  to 
operate  it.     Another  man  tried  to  help  him  find  it,  but  he  had 


BOSTON    AT    THE    FEET   OK    JESUS.  64I 

not  been  there  before  and  he  could  not  liclp  liim.  By  and  by 
a  little  bootblack  came  up  and  put  his  thumb  on  the  spring  and 
the  water  came  gushing  out.  He  had  been  tliere,  you  see.  You 
can  tell  a  man  how  to  get  at  the  fountain  of  tiie  water  of  life,  if 
you  know  the  way,  and  they  may  drink  and  have  eternal  life. 
And  let  us  bear  in  mind  that  this  work  in  Boston  during  the 
next  three  months,  the  real  heart  and  marrow  of  the  work,  is  to 
be  done  in  the  inquiry  room.  It  is  not  to  come  out  here  and 
hear  sermons  and  singingr.  We  want  doers  of  the  Word.  We 
want  men  to  bring  their  Bibles  with  them,  and  all  through  the 
meetings  to  be  on  the  look-out  to  see  if  a  man  is  enibarrassed, 
and  if  he  is  personally  bowed  down  in  sin,  and  to  speak  a  few 
kind  words  to  such,  and  to  tell  them  how  to  look  to  Christ  and 
be  saved,  and  to  pray  with  them  ;  and  that  work  shall  be  for 
eternity.  It  is  a  privilege  that  God  gives  us  of  winning  souls 
to  Christ  in  the  next  three  months,  because  the  Spirit  of  God 
is  abroad,  and  that  is  the  time  to  work  when  the  minds  of  men 
are  agitated.  It  is  easy  to  get  into  conversation  with  men  now. 
Never  mind  the  meetings,  get  them  to  talk  on  personal  questions  ; 
ask  them  if  they  will  have  Christ,  and  tell  them  of  Christ.  They 
may  be  mad,  but  it  will  keep  rankling  in  their  minds,  and  per- 
haps before  they  get  it  out  of  their  hearts  they  will  be  saved.  A 
man  came  into  one  of  our  meetings  to  whom  I  spoke,  and  he 
went  off  mad,  and  said  he  would  never  come  in  again.  He  said  : 
What  right  has  Mr.  Moody  to  ask  me  that }  It  is  none  of  his 
business.  What  right  had  he  to  put  such  a  question  as  that  to 
me  ?  "  Well,  he  went  talking  to  a  person  who  had  been  a  very  cold 
Christian,  but  she  loved  his  soul,  and  she  said  :  *'  I  do  not  know, 
but  I  think  it  is  a  very  proper  and  a  very  appropriate  question." 
The  man  went  to  bed,  mad  as  he  could  be,  and  got  a  ticket 
next  morning  for  the  theatre  to  go  that  evening ;  but  before 
night  came  he  was  around  to  the  meeting  again.  He  could  not 
get  that  question  out  of  his  mind,  "  Are  you  a  Christian  ? "  He 
came  into  the  inquiry  room  and  he  was  converted.  Let  us  ask 
the  people  that  question,  "  Are  you  a  Christian  ?  "  Let  us  come 
here,  not  to  enjoy  these  meetings,  but  to  get  inquirers,  and  if 
we  cannot  get  men  into  the  inquiry  room,  let  us  speak  with 


642  MOODY    AND    SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

them  here,  and,  if  need  be,  go  home  with  them,  and  down  to 
the  mans  house;  have  an  inquiry  meeting  on  the  street,  under 
the  gas-lights,  or  in  his  phice  of  business.  To-day,  in  your 
Sabbath  School  class,  in  your  church,  your  prayer-meeting, 
wherever  you  go  and  find  a  lost  soul,  talk  to  it,  and  try  to  win 
it  to  Christ.  I  have  found  for  years  that  very  few  men  get  angry 
with  you  if  you  come  to  them  in  the  right  spirit.  I  have  made 
it  a  rule  for  many  years,  and  I  have  found  it  a  great  help  to  me 
not  to  let  a  day  pass  without  talking  to  somebody  about  their 
soul,  and  that  is  keeping  my  own  heart  warm.  Supposing 
every  Christian  here  to-day  would  do  that,  how  many  would 
hear  the  Gospel  during  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven.  I  doubt  whether  there  would  be  a  man  or  woman  in 
Boston  who  would  not  receive  the  question  "  Are  you  a  Chris- 
tian ? "  It  seems  to  me  that  we  make  a  great  mistake  if  we  do 
not  do  what  we  can  to  sow  the  seed  and  gather  the  harvest. 
There  was  a  man  condemned  to  be  hung  once,  and  many 
Christians  were  anxious  to  get  in  and  talk  to  him  about  his 
soul.  At  last,  the  man  said:  "If  these  Christians  had  taken 
one-half  the  interest  in  me  before  I  had  committed  this  deed,  I 
would  not  have  to  be  hung."  We  want  to  take  an  interest  in 
people  to  show  that  we  love  t"hem.  That  we  desire  to  take 
them  to  God,  and  if  men  find  out  that  our  motives  are  pure  and 
that  we  have  no  selfish  ends  in  view — why  they  will  believe  in 
us.  They  will  see  when  we  take  an  interest  in  them,  and  believe 
us  when  we  tell  them  we  are  looking  out  for  the  welfare  of  their 
souls.  They  will  believe  we  are  their  best  friends,  and  are  not 
doing  anything  to  harm  them,  but  to  look  after  their  souls' 
interest.  And  may  God  give  us  the  heart  for  the  work,  and 
may  we  not  be  ashamed  to  own  up  that  we  do  not  know  all 
spiritual  things,  but  be  willing  to  ask  for  our  own  information, 
and  ask  others,  and  pray  for,  and  with  one  another,  and  may  the 
Lord  bless  us. 

We  have  pictures  of  the  scenes  that  transpired  in  the  inquiry 
meetings  which  are  instructive  as  well  as  interesting: 

The  preacher,  taking  a  chair  at  the  side  of  the  room,  cast  a 
rapid  glance  around  the  room  and  said,  "  Mr.  Durant,  tell  these 


BOSTON    AT    THE    FEET   OF    JESUS.  643 

young  men  how  they  can  be  saved."  The  gentleman  thus  ad- 
jured made  a  fervent  appeal  to  his  hearers  to  look  to  Jesus  only ; 
and  scarcely  had  he  taken  his  seat  when  Mr.  Moody  said,  in  his 
catechetical  way,  "  Mr.  Crooke,  how  do  you  know  you  are  saved  ?  '* 
And  that  gentleman  gave  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  him.  In 
rapid  succession  others  were  called  upon  to  give  their  testimony  ; 
and  then  Mr.  Moody  said,  looking  at  the  crowd:  "They  are 
troubled  about  their  feelings.  Who  can  tell  them  that  God's 
salvation  is  free  ?  "  Mr.  Gordon  spoke  in  a  very  interesting  way 
of  his  experience,  showing  that  all  his  strivings  to  "  feel  "  as 
he  thought  other  Christians  should,  only  made  his  own  burden 
heavier.  At  last  he  knelt  down  and  said,  "O  Lord,  I  give  it 
up  ;  "  and  straightway  he  felt  the  rock  of  salvation  underneath 
his  feet.  "What  we  want,"  said  Mr.  Gordon,  "  is  a  sober,  com- 
mon-sense, intelligent  surrender  of  the  soul  to  Christ."  Then 
Mr.  Moody  got  up  in  his  usual  impetuous  way  and  said  :  "It's 
the  hardest  thing  in  the  world  to  accept  Christ,  and  yet  it's  the 
easiest  thing.  This  seems  a  paradox,  but  it's  true."  Mr.  Moody 
told  a  story  of  how  a  mother  broke  the  will  of  her  child,  to  show 
that  it  is  man's  will  which  prevents  his  acceptance  of  the  Lord. 
"  May  God  break  to  pieces  your  will,  is  my  prayer  to-night,"  said 
the  evangelist.  Then  he  remarked :  "I  should  like  to  have  a 
talk  personally  with  each  one  of  you.  That  will  be  better  than 
speaking  to  you  in  this  way."  He  looked  around  for  the  Chris- 
tian workers,  but  they  were  not  all  present,  through  some  mis- 
understanding regarding  the  meeting,  and  with  characteristic 
energy  Mr.  Moody  entered  on  the  work  himself,  after  Mr.  Pen- , 
tecost,  Mr.  Durant,  Mr.  Shule  and  a  few  others  had  spoken. 
"  Why  shouldn't  you  all  accept  Jesus  to-night?  "  he  asked  ;  and 
turning  to  a  young  man  at  his  side,  he  asked,  "  Won't  you  be  a 
Christian.?"  "Not  to-night,"  was  the  response.  "I'm  sorry, 
my  brother,"  said  Mr.  Moody;   and  then,  after  a  moment,  he 

said,  "  We  must  pray  for  you.     Mrs.  E (turning  to  a  lady 

near  by),  show  him  his  need  of  a  Saviour  ; "  and  the  young  man 
and  Mrs.  E.  went  to  the  committee-room  near  by  and  knelt  in 
prayer.  "  Now  I  want  you  to  take  the  Holy  Spirit,  now,"  said 
Mr.  Moody.     "  Don't  put  it  off;"  and  he  told  a  story  of  a  young 


644  MOODY   AND    SANKKY    IN'    AMERICA. 

man  in  Chicago  who  was  urged  to  become  a  Christian  at  one  of 
the  meetings.  "  Not  now,"  he  said  to  his  friend.  "I'll  meet 
you  next  Tuesday,"  said  he,  naming  the  place,  and  he  went  off. 
His  friend  went  to  the  jDlace,  but  the  man  he  sought  had  not 
arrived.  Going  out  on  the  street  he  met  a  man  who  had  been 
with  his  friend.  ''  Did  he  come  in  town  with  you  ?  "  he  asked. 
"Yes,"  was  the  reply^  "  but  he  came  in  his  coffin.  His  body  is 
at  the  express  office."  A  sudden  attack  of  disease  had  brought 
hira  to  death  unprepared.  This  story  had  of  course  its  effect  on 
the  hearers ;  and  then  Mr.  Moody  asked  all  who  had  experi- 
enced religion  that  night  to  rise.  About  twenty  rise,  and  are 
greeted  with  a  happy  smile  and  a  hearty  "God  bless  you  "  from 
the  earnest  evangelist.  A  very  old  man  arose,  and  to  him  Mr. 
Moody  was  most  cordial.  '^  Did  you  bring  him  here }  "  he  ask- 
ed of  the  man  next  him.  "Yes,  sir."  "Well  you  must  nurse 
him  and  be  a  true  friend  to  him."  A  little  lad  about  twelve 
years  arose.  "That's  good,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "'Suffer  the 
children  to  come  unto  me,'  said  Jesus.  The  Gospel  reaches  all 
alike."  And  then  three  colored  men  arose,  and  the  speaker 
gave  all  an  encouraging  word.  Finally  all  who  thought  them- 
selves Christians  were  asked  to  rise  ;  and  set  to  work  with  those 
who  remained  seated.  Mr.  Moody  jumped  over  a  chair  or  two 
to  talk  with  an  interested  group  about  salvation,  and  his  frank, 
open  manner  won  the  attention  of  all.  "I  should  like  to  be 
saved,"  said  one  man,  "but  look  at  your  professing  Christians." 
Apparently  Mr.  Moody  heard  him,  for  he  said:  "Profession 
don't  save  a  man.  Many  people  profess  what  they  don't  be- 
lieve, but  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  salvation.  Going  to 
church  and  making  a  profession  cannot  save  you.  Jesus  only 
can  save.  And  when  a  man  is  really  saved  the  fruits  of  right- 
eousness will  surely  come.  If  a  man  is  envious,  or  a  backbiter, 
or  a  slanderer,  he  is  not  saved.  By  men's  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them." 

Again  :  when  all  the  doors  were  finally  closed  and  stillness 
reigned,  Mr.  Moody  came  in  softly,  took  his  place  in  front  of 
the  inquirers,  and  asked  all  to  bow  their  heads  in  prayer. 
After  a  fervent  prayer,  Mr.  Moody  said  that  he  thought  that  all 


BOSTON    AT    THE    FEET    OF   JKSUS.  645 

assembled  should  read  and  carefully  consider  the  truths  con- 
tained in  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah.  My  friends,  continued 
Mr.  Moody,  in  his  earnest  manner,  you  will  ever  find  great 
comfort  and  joy  in  the  second  and  third  chapters  of  John.  But 
we  are  not  here  this  evening  to  stare  at  each  other;  we  are  here 
to  inquire  about  our  own  sins  ;  we  are  here  to-night  that  we 
may  get  nearer  to  Christ.  So  I  shall  put  the  workers  after  the 
inquirers,  and  the  latter  must  be  very  hard  sinners  if  they  go 
out  of  this  room  to-night  unsaved.  Mr.  Moody  then  selected 
an  inquirer  and  a  worker,  and  escorted  them  into  inquiry  room 
No.  2,  where  the  inquirer  was  asked  the  usual  questions  about 
his  religious  state.  In  a  few  moments  other  workers  and  in- 
quirers joined  the  first  couple  in  this  room,  Mr.  Moody,  mean- 
while, being  earnestly  engaged  in  endeavoring  to  lead  the 
inquirers  in  the  large  room  to  the  light.  To  each  lady  or  gen- 
tleman whom  he  approached,  Mr.  Moody  asked,  "  Are  you  a 
Christian  ?  "  and  if  the  answer  was  in  the  affirmative,  the 
evangelist  would  pass  on  to  the  next  inquirer.  The  moment  a 
person  hesitated  at  the  customary  question,  "  Arc  you  a  Chris- 
tian .''  "  Mr.  Moody  would  take  him  into  one  corner  of  the  room, 
and  there  pray  fervently  for  him.  All  the  Christian  workers 
seemed  to  be  in  requisition,  and  if  any  of  them  chanced  to  be 
unemployed  for  a  moment,  Mr.  Moody  would  find  some  new 
inquirer,  and  the  work  would  thus  begin  again.  One  young 
man,  scarcely  twenty  years  of  age,  was  seated  in  one  part  of 
the  room  engaged  in  a  lively  conversation  with  a  worker  who 
was  endeavoring  to  convince  him  on  certain  passages  which  he 
doubted  in  the  Bible.  "  You  can't  make  me  believe  it,"  said 
the  young  man,  apparently  oblivious  to  all  entreaty,  "  You  may 
continue  to  talk  until  doomsday,  and  you  won't  convince  me." 
The  worker  persisted,  however,  but  with  what  success  could  not 
be  determined.  In  another  part  of  the  room,  a  middle-aged 
and  evidently  hard-working  man  was  seated.  He  was  appa- 
rently slightly  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  but  he  seemed  to 
realize  for  what  particular  purpose  the  meeting  was  assembled. 
Every  now  and  then  he  would  put  his  hand  to  his  face  and  cry, 
and,  finally,  unable  to  contain  his  grief  any  longer,  he  made  a 


646  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

confession  of  his  sins  to  a  gentleman  who  sat  beside  him.  After 
his  long  story  was  told,  the  man  said  in  a  deprecatory  tone, 
*'  I  know  that  it  isn't  any  use  ;  I  am  too  wicked  to  have  Christ 
receive  me  ;  I  know  He  won't  do  that.  I  am  in  the  habit  of 
drinking  every  day  of  my  life,  and  get  drunk  and  swear.  I  have 
come  to  these  meetings,"  continued  the  man,  gesticulating 
with  his  hands,  "  now  nine  times  ;  and  I  thought  that  Christ 
held  me  in  His  arms  at  one  time,  but  I  found  I  was  in  the 
devil's  arms.  Mr.  Moody  won't  come  to  me  to-night,  because 
I  have  on  ragged  clothes,"  further  complained  the  man.  "  Oh, 
yes,  he  will ;  he  never  thinks  of  clothes,"  said  his  companion 
pleasantly ;  and  shortly  after  this,  Mr.  Moody  came  over  to  the 
man  in  question,  grasped  him  heartily  by  the  hand,  and  said 
that  he  had  prayed  for  him  the  very  day  he  rose  in  meeting  and 
asked  for  prayers.  The  man,  in  spite  of  Mr.  Moody's  earnest 
appeals,  could  not  be  made  to  believe  that  God  would  receive 
him  just  as  he  was,  and  so  special  prayers  were  made  for  him. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Webb  then  offered  prayer,  Mr.  Moody  immedi- 
ately following  in  one  of  his  characteristic  appeals  to  Christ. 
In  concluding  the  meeting,  Mr.  Moody  urged  all  to  go  from 
the  room  as  Christians.  Those  who  have  not  accepted  Christ 
to-night,  may  do  so  to-morrow  night ;  but,  my  friends,  said  Mr. 
Moody,  don't  merely  try  to  accept  Christ,  but  accept  Him. 

Again:  the  scene  in  the  inquiry  rooms  was  thrilling  and 
hardly  to  be  described.  In  one  part  of  the  room  was  a  boy 
infidel,  hotly  declaring  that  he  won't  believe,  though  he  should 
be  reasoned  with  all  night.  Opposite  was  a  middle-aged  man, 
old  and  broken  down  with  excesses,  lamenting  his  wretched 
career  and  despairing  of  God's  mercy.  All  around  were  men 
and  women  of  every  condition  in  life,  with  whom  those  fleeting 
moments  might  be  an  eternal  crisis.  A  group  of  six  young 
ladies  were  addressed  with  the  question,  whether  any  were 
ready  to  accept  Christ  at  once.  One  signified  she  was  ready, 
and  kneeling  with  Mr.  Gordon  in  prayer  said,  '  I  do  here  give 
myself  to  Jesus  the  Saviour,  and  accept  him  as  mine.'  As  they 
rose  the  second  young  lady  expressed  her  wish  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian from   that   moment,  and   while   they  knelt  in   a  prayer  of 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  647 

consecration  the  third  and  fourth  young  ladies  surrendered 
themselves  to  Jesus  and  began  persuading  the  fifth,  wlio  like- 
wise gave  herself  to  Jesus ;  and  five  of  the  six  went  forth  re- 
joicing in  having  found  the  Saviour.  Another  young  lady  bur- 
dened and  sorrowing  for  sin  was  directed  to  the  all-sufTicient 
and  waiting  Saviour,  and  believing,  in  a  moment  her  sorrow 
was  turned  into  joy.  At  a  suggestion,  looking  around  the  room 
and  seeing  one  with  bowed  head  weeping,  as  she  had  sat  the 
moment  before,  this  new  disciple  rose  up  with  radiant  face  and 
went  to  the  burdened  one,  seeking  to  point  out  the  way  of  life. 
One  of  the  workers  leaving  the  inquiry-room  was  called  to  by 
one  whom  he  knew,  and  who  was  greatly  distressed  for  his  soul. 
In  a  few  words  he  was  pointed  to  Jesus,  and  believing  found 
life  in  his  name.  It  seems  that  many  are  simply  waiting  for 
some  Simon  or  Philip  to  bring  them  to  Jesus.  Pastors  find  in 
these  inquiry-meetings  persons  they  have  long  been  praying  for, 
and  here  they  are  converted  and  saved. 

These  division  meetings  are  in  themselves  solemnly  sugges- 
tive. A  day  of  final  separation  approaches.  In  each  division 
were  persons  of  all  ages  and  conditions— though  the  majority 
were  young.  A  man  over  seventy,  grey-haired,  wrinkled  and 
bent,  who  has  just  given  testimony  of  what  the  Lord  has  lately 
done  for  him,  converses  on  the  way  to  the  prayer-room  with  two 
youths  under  twenty,  and  all  praise  the  Lord  together  for  their 
deliverance  from  sin  and  Satan.  Following  these  a  group  of 
men  engage  to  pray  for  those  just  then  seeking  Jesus  beneath 
the  same  roof  Four  young  sisters,  while  rejoicing  for  them- 
selves, hasten  to  ask  prayers  for  absent  unconverted  friends. 
Several  go  by  themselves  and  pour  out  their  hearts  in  silent 
prayer,  before  joining  the  new  assembly. 

Meanwhile  above,  every  one  seeing  the  hundreds  who  have 
presented  themselves  as  inquirers,  must  feel  that  the  work  is 
only  begun.  It  is  a  place  where  angels  tread  softly.  To  whom 
shall  it  be  an  hour  of  salvation  ?  The  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say 
Come.  Some  are  even  on  the  threshold  of  the  kingdom  ;  a  few 
words  of  counsel,  a  simple  prayer,  prevails  ;  they  make  a  com- 
plete  surrender,  and   receive  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and 


648  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

sighing  shall  flee  away.  Others  cling  to  their  burdens  and  toil 
up  the  Hill  Difficulty  ;  some  are  fast  in  the  slough  of  Despond  ; 
some  have  put  up  at  Mr.  Legalj^y's  without  any  knowledge  of 
where  they  are.  The  least  hopeful  class  are  debaters,  con- 
cerned with  the  problem  of  original  sin,  requiring  to  have 
reconciled  the  doctrines  of  predestination  and  human  free 
agency,  before  they  will  become  Christians  ;  yet  every  day  some 
such,  as  of  all  grades  of  rationalists  and  infidels,  disappoint 
Satan  by  exercising  their  free  agency  in  getting  rid  of  personal 
sin  at  the  foot  of  the  cross. 

What  wonder  the  cry  comes  from  the  hearts  of  the  workers, 
*'  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ? "  With  the  open  New 
Testament  in  their  hands,  they  bid  all  "  to  the  Word  and  to  the 
testimony,"  God  giving  them  many  and  signal  victories.  Here 
stands  a  well-known  clergyman,  armed  with  this  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  with  seven  men  forming  a  circle,  his  audience.  Soon  one, 
and  another,  and  another,  says,  "  I  believe  ; "  and  the  fourth 
says  "  I  also  receive  into  my  heart,  that  Jesus  is  the  propitiation 
for  my  sins — because  God  says  so."  "  Let  us  thank  God."  The 
minister  falls  on  his  knees,  the  unbroken  circle  with  him,  and 
the  language  of  prayer  is  this  :  "  We  thank  Thee,  O  our 
Heavenly  Father,  for  the  sure  foundation  we  have  in  Thy  holy 
Word.  If  we  were  lost,  that  would  be  of  comparatively  small 
consequence  ;  but  if  for  once  God  were  to  break  his  word,  the 
universe  would  be  engulfed  in  despair.  Blessed  be  Thou  that 
this  word  has  never  failed,  can  never  fail,  and  that  on  it  our 
souls  do  rest  secure." 

A  young  man  of  unusually  large  size,  who  has  recently  been 
converted,  was  trying  to  learn  to  read,  and  his  teacher  was  one 
of  "  the  workers  "  known  by  the  doubly  appropriate  name  of 
"Little  Happy."  She  was  teaching  him  the  alphabet  out  of  a 
Bible,  which  he  now  wishes  to  be  able  to  study  for  himself 

Mr.  Moody  is  Christ-like  in  reference  to  children.  The 
"  suffer  little  children  to  come,"  is  tenderly  reiterated  on  all 
occasions,  nor  does  the  effort  to  bring  them  end  in  words.  The 
children's  meetings,  inaugurated  early  in  the  revival,  have  been 
continued,  and  if  other  meetings  have  attracted  more  attention, 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEET   OF   JESUS.  649 

yet  none  have  been  of  greater  interest.  Many  a  bright,  youn'^ 
face  of  boy  or  girl  is  seen  among  the  young  converts,  many  a 
childish  voice  tells  sweetly  of  the  love  of  Jesus.  The  simplicity 
and  confidence  of  these  child  converts  is  exceedingly  precious 
to  see  and  hear,  an  example,  it  seems  to  us,  to  a  multitude  of 
older  Christians  who  "are  trying"  to  be  on  the  Lord's  side, 
who  '-'hope,"  who  "trust,"'  they  are  so  either  clouded  with 
doubts  all  their  lives,  or  deeming  it  presumptuous  to  knoiv  whom 
they  have  believed.  These  little  ones,  when  asked  if  they  are 
Christians,  answer  lovingly,  "  Yes."  They  would  as  soon  be  in 
doubt  about  loving  their  parents  or  the  baby  in  the  cradle  at 
home,  as  about  loving  the  dear  Saviour.  It  may  be  that  the 
infiuence  of  the  Moody  and  Sankey  meetings  on  the  children 
in  and  around  Boston,  will  be  last  to  be  effaced. 

The  other  evening  a  girl  of  fourteen,  who  had  found  the 
Saviour  a  week  before,  asked  one  of  the  workers  to  pray  with 
her  young  friend  who  wanted  to  become  a  Christian.  "  Why 
wqX. you  pray  with  her.?"  he  asked.  She  looked  a  little  startled 
at  the  proposition,  but  the  other,  giving  her  no  time  to  hesitate, 
gently  urged  her  to  the  duty — "Come,  now,  take  your  little 
friend  to  the  gallery  and  pray  with  her,  and  then  come  back  to 
me."  The  faithful  little  beginner  obeyed,  took  her  friend  by 
the  hand  and  disappeared.  It  was  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
before  they  returned  with  the  glad  news  that  another  had  been 
able  to  see  how  to  come  to  Jesus  and  had  given  her  young 
heart  to  Him.  A  girl  of  thirteen,  living  in  a  distant  town,  read 
in  a  newspaper,  a  sermon  by  Mr.  Moody,  on  the  blood  of 
Jesus  that  cleanses  from  all  sin — one  of  the  first  preached  here. 
Shortly  after,  a  dear  friend  of  hers  came  to  Boston,  and  the 
child  wrote  her  to  say  she  had  been  converted  by  reading  that 
sermon,  but  had.  not  ventured  to  say  so  at  the  time,  nor  until 
she  remembered  that  Jesus  says,  "  He  that  is  ashamed  to  con- 
fess me  before  men,  of  him  will  I  be  ashamed  before  my  Father 
and  the  holy  angels."  A  child  only  eight,  in  a  suburban  town, 
was  known  to  go  by  herself  and  weep.  She  had  lately  lost  a 
beloved  grandfather,  and  believing  her  sorrow  was  for  him,  the 
friends  tried  to  comfort  her  with  the  thought  that  dear  grandpa 
2^ 


650  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

was  not  dead  and  in  the  grave,  but  gone  to  heaven.  She  said 
she  knew  that,  and  was  only  anxious  to  be  a  Christian,  like  her 
grandpa.  She  was  not  too  young  to  believe  in  Jesus,  and  now 
she  is  one  of  the  happiest  lambs  in  the  fold.  We  asked  a  lad 
in  the  inquiry  room,  "Are  you  a  Christian.?"  "Yes,"  he  said, 
with  a  face  all  aglow — "just  begun  to-night."     "  Have  you  a 

mother,  and  is  she  a  Christian  } "    "  Yes,  she  is  living  in  N ; 

I  shall  write  and  tell  her,  and  O,  how  glad  she  will  be."  He 
then  ran  after  the  person  who  had  shown  him  the  way  of  sal- 
vation, and  said,  "  I've  a  brother  ;  now  let  us  go  for  my  brother." 
Truly  the  circle  of  converted  boys  widening  day  by  day, — boys 
soon  to  take  their  places  in  active  life — is  a  most  gracious 
result  of  the  Tabernacle  work.  Mr.  Moody's  little  Willie  and 
Emma  often  sit  by  him  while  he  preaches ;  Master  Harry  San- 
key  is  among  the  workers  in  the  boys'  meeting. 

Hundreds  of  boys  are  to  be  found  every  evening  in  places 
of  temptation  in  the  cit};.  They  may  be  seen  in  saloons,  in 
billiard  rooms,  in  theatres  and  places  of  low  amusement ;  and 
the  newspapers  have  but  little  to  say  about  it.  But  Mr.  Moody 
has  meetings  for  boys  on  certain  evenings,  and  the  secular 
and  certain  religious  sheets,  also,  are  greatly  exercised  on  this 
account.  "  It  would  be  better  for  them  (the  boys)  to  be  at 
home,"  it  is  sagely  said  ;  and  "they  are  too  young  to  be  trou- 
bled with  anxiety  about  their  souls."  Now,  it  is  more  than 
possible  that  all  the  counsels  given  to  these  little  fellows  in  the 
revival  meetings  are  not  of  the  most  judicious  character;  it  ts 
probable  that  in  many  instances  the  religious  emotions  mani- 
fested will  be  evanescent ;  and  we  can  readily  believe  that  some 
of  the  little  men  speak  ridiculously  when  invited  to  talk,  take 
airs  upon  themselves,  and  remark  about  what  they  do  not 
clearly  understand.  But  we  arc  sure  that  none  of  them  will 
become  gamblers  or  drunkards,  or  be  tempted  to  acts  of  fraud, 
or  be  rendered  disobedient,  or  acquire  a  disrelish  for  anything 
that  is  true  and  noble  and  good,  at  the  Tabernacle.  And  we 
are  also  quite  as  confident  that  many  will  begin  a  real  life  of 
Christian  faith  and  service;  they  will  enter  with  higher  motives 
upon  their  studies   and  chosen  business,  and  be  better,  more 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  65I 

useful  and  happier  men,  for  the  prayci  meetings  ihey  are  now 
permitted  to  enjoy.  Besides,  the  Lord  Jesus  has  expressed 
His  will  about  these  little  fellows,  and  it  is  certainly  safe  to 
obey  it :  "  Suffer  them  to  come  unto  Me,  and  forbid  it  not !  " 

"  My  boy  came  out  clearly  last  night  and  bore  testimony  to 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,"  said  the  editor  of  a  leading  Boston 
daily  to  us,  last  week.  If  he  had  fallen  heir  to  f 50,000  he 
could  not  have  exhibited  more  emotion  or  gratification. 

Rev.  William  B.  Wright  said  men  often  failed  to  comprehend 
what  may  be  accomplished  by  simply  doing  duty.  In  one  of 
the  meetings  in  Boston,  a  merchant,  quite  prominent  on  the 
street,  said  he  had  been  considering  whether  it  was  not  his  duty 
to  come  out  on  the  Lord's  side,  and  he  did  it.  He  thought  it 
was  going  to  be  a  very  hard  thing,  but  he  did  not  find  it  so. 
That  night  he  went  home  and  told  his  wife  he  had  given  him- 
self to  Christ,  and  asked  her  to  kneel  and  pray  with  him.  The 
result  was,  that  next  day  they  were  rejoicing  in  Christ  together. 
The  next  day  he  met  a  man  belonging  to  the  same  club  with 
him,  a  merchant  on  the  same  street,  and  he  went  over  and 
spoke  to  him,  and  that  man  came  to  Christ.  He  in  turn  went 
hoine  and  told  his  wife,  and  she  was  converted.  In  the  family 
of  the  first  merchant,  was  a  seamstress,  and  the  second  day 
after  their  conversion,  the  husband  and  wife  invited  her  to  be 
present  at  family  prayers  ;  she  was  greatly  surprised,  tears  came 
to  her  eyes,  she  knelt  with  them,  and  there  surrendered  herself 
to  Christ.  That  was  not  all.  A  bookkeeper  in  the  office  of  one 
of  these  merchants  was  in  a  fair  way  to  ruin  himself  with  dissi- 
pation ;  his  employer  spoke  to  him  kindly,  and  that  man  is  tes- 
tifying for  Christ.  Nor  is  that  all.  Only  a  day  or  two  after 
that,  a  sea  captain  came  to  the  speaker  and  asked  prayers  for 
himself.  He  had  had  convictions  ever  since  his  wife  died — 
however  long  that  might  have  been — and  he  said  that  when  he 
saw  his  cousin  converted, — naming  this  same  first  merchant, — 
he  felt  he  could  stand  it  no  longer.  He  got  down  on  his  knees 
and  began  to  pray,  and  the  Lord  blessed  and  bade  him  be  of 
good  cheer. 

A  man  whose  face   bore  the  ravages  of  dissipation,  rose  and 


652  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

said  he  had  struggled  for  weeks  against  a  terrible  appetite,  but 
the  Lord  had  made  him  conqueror,  and  now  there  wasn't  a  hap- 
pier man  in  Boston.  Mr.  Moody  :  I  think  you  had  better  tell 
them  what  bound  you,  because  it  may  set  some  poor  captive 
fr.ee.  The  convert :  It  was  opium.  I  had  a  loving  wife,  lovely 
children,  a  kind  father  and  mother,  but  no  power  on  earth  could 
make  me  break  off  the  habit — nothing  but  the  power  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Another  man  said  he  had  held  a  position  for 
fourteen  years  in  the  Custom  House,  but  had  lost  it  by  his  own 
fault.  He  had  tried  temperance  societies,  had  been  placed  in 
different  asylums,  but  nothing  could  save  him  from  the  curse  of 
strong  drink,  until  he  tried  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  would 
say  he  had  experienced  the  divinity  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour. 
Mr.  Moody  :  Didn't  you  use  to  believe  in  it  ?  Convert :  No  sir, 
I  didn't.  Having  been  brought  up  a  Unitarian, -I  had  no  con- 
ception of  it,  but  now  it  animates  my  whole  soul.  Mr.  Moody: 
Is  there  any  change  in  your  life?  Answer:  A  perfect  change. 
My  children  noticed  and  questioned  their  mother  about  it. 
Now  I  have  family  prayers,  read  and  study  the  Bible.  I  was 
morose,  a  miserable  misanthrope.  One  of  the  influences  that 
brought  me  to  Christ,  was  those  sweet  hymns,  "  What  a  Friend 
we  have  in  Jesus,"  and  "I  need  Thee  every  hour."  Why 
shouldn't  I  find  this  dear  friend  Jesus?  Thank  God,  I  have 
found  Him,  and  I  am  happy,  oh,  so  happy.  A  gentleman  on  the 
platform  said  that  a  friend  of  the  person  who  had  last  spoken, 
who  was  a  Unitarian,  told  him  if  Mr.  Moody  had  reformed  this 
one  man  only,  it  would  fully  justify  all  the  expense  of  erecting 
and  supporting  the  Tabernacle.  Many  similar  testimonies  were 
given,  and  near  the  close  of  the  meeting,  twenty-five  persons  rose 
for  prayer. 

Mr.  Sankey. 

It  is  but  just  to  say  that  the  preacher  could  net  do  without 
the  singer.  The  hymns  of  Mr.  Sankey,  in  sentiment  and  even 
more  in  their  rendering,  are  splendid  illustrations  of  the  various 
themes  set  forth  by  Mr.  Moody.  1(  there  is  any  perfection  of 
listening  beyond  that  bestowed  on  Mr.  Moody's   discourses,  it 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEtT    Ok'   JESUS.  653 

follows  at  the  close,  with  the  announcement  that  "  Mr.  Sankey 
will  now  sing  a  solo."  Six  thousand  persons  seem  transformed 
to  sXatues.  We  hope  the  choirs,  with  their  leader,  Dr.  Tourjee, 
have  the  reward  of  knowing  what  an  important  adjunct  they  are 
to  the  services  of  the  Tabernacle.  Silting  near  them,  one  dis- 
tinguishes voices  of  a  high  order.  Performing  "Happy  Day" 
last  Thursday,  Dr.  Tourjee,  after  the  first  verse,  said  to  the  con- 
gregation by  way  of  interlude,  ''Please  put  all  the  happiness 
into  the  chorus  that  you  can."  The  sweet  singer  who  ceased 
for  earth  at  Ashtabula,  lives  in  his  hymtis  that  daily  resound 
through  the  Tabernacle.  A  day  or  two  since,  a  lady,  one  of  the 
many  strangers,  solitary,  and  with  the  shadow  of  some  great 
sorrow  on  her  face,  sat  just  back  of  the  evangelists,  between  the 
clergy  on  their  left  and  the  choir  on  their  right — sat  silent,  if 
not  indifferent,  through  the  opening  hymns,  like  one  whose  lips 
have  never  been  attuned  to  song — till  in  turn  came  that  always 
electrifying  hymn,  by  Mr.  Bliss,  "  Hold  the  Fort."  The  first 
notes  of  the  air  from  the  organ,  sent  a  visible  thrill  through  her 
frame,  her  countenance  glowed,  and  she  threw  in  her  voice  with 
the  choir  in  a  grandly  melodious  soprano,  such  as  is  rarely 
heard. 

Mr.  Sankey's  voice  is  considerably  broken,  and  if  the  success 
of  his  singing  depended  on  purely  artistic  effects  instead  of  its 
dramatic  power  and  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  would 
hardly  hold  his  fort  or  continue  to  be  armor-bearer  to  Mr. 
Moody.  He  realizes  this  himself,  speaks  humbly  though  not 
despondingly  of  his  "  worn  out  "  voice,  and  has  asked  special 
prayer  that  God  may  use  the  "  broken  vessel  "  for  his  glory. 
The  effectiveness  of  his  singing  is  not  in  the  least  abated.  Peo- 
ple sometimes  smile  at  his  high  notes,  but  there  is  no  such  hush 
upon  that  great  congregation,  and  no  such  signs  of  emotion  as 
when  he  is  searching  hearts  with  his  recitative  renderings  of  the 
gospel.  And  many  a  message  of  Mr.  Moody  would  be  but  as 
the  tracing  of  a  pencil  upon  a  stone  were  it  not  for  the  power 
with   which   his  after  song  eats  into  the  heart  and  conscience. 

The  two  evangelists  work  in  beautiful  harmony  with  each 
other.     Mr.  Sankey  is  one  of  the  most  earnest  listeners,  appa- 


654  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

rently,  in  the  audience,  to  Mr.  Moody.  He  has  heard  him  on 
hundreds  of  occasions;  he  has  listened  often  to  the  same  illus- 
trations ;  but  we  noticed  that  he  was  affected  to  tears,  and 
followed  every  sentence  of  the  discourse  with  unbroken  atten- 
tion. His  simple  prayers  before  he  sings,  for  God's  blessing 
upon  the  worship  in  song,  and  his  soulful  and  tender  strains  show 
how  truly  he  is  a  help-meet  of  his  co-worker,  and  how  heartily 
he  enters  himself  into  the  evangelical  service. 

Mr.  Sankey,  being  called  on  to  sing  a  solo,  said  that  a  lady 
had  given  him  a  thought  in  regard  to  the  well  of  living  waters. 
Some  people,  she  said,  seem  to  give  at  once  to  those  with  whom 
they  talk  that  which  helps  and  comforts  them  while  others  are 
unable  to  do  so.  She  told  him  that  when  a  little  girl  she  had  a 
garden,  which,  despite  good  soil  and  continual  watering,  did  not 
flourish.  Her  mother  asked  her  about  her  flowers,  and  was 
told  that  they  did  not  grow.  Her  mother  soon  learned  the 
reason.  She  had  drawn  the  water  from  a  cold  spring  when  she 
should  have  taken  it  from  some  sunlit  place.  So  it  is  when  we 
try  to  give  to  people  the  "water  of  life."  If  we  give  it  out 
from  cold  hearts  it  will  chill  rather  than  invigorate. 

He  was  entirely  free  from  the  hoarseness  which  has  at  times 
troubled  him  on  our  bleak  coast — he  never  sang  better,  his 
voice  ringing  through  the  vast  space  like  a  silver  bell. 

Mr.  Sankey  prefaced  the  hymn  of  which  the  following  stanza 
is  the  first,  with  the  statement  that  a  young  girl  in  Edinburgh 
was  led  by  it  to  give  her  heart  to  Christ.  Soon  after,  she  was 
the  victim  of  a  railroad  accident,  and  died,  saying,  "  For  me," 
"  for  me." 

There  is  a  gate  that  stands  ajar. 
And,  through  its  portals  gleaming, 
A  radiance  from  the  Cross,  afar, 
The  Saviour's  love  revealing. 

Refrain  :     O,  depth  of  mercy  !  can  it  be 
That  gate  was  left  ajar  for  me  ? 
For  me,  for  me  ? 
Was  left  ajar  for  me  ? 

It  would  be  an  imperfect  rehearsal  of  the  salient  facts  of  the 


BOSTON    AT    THE    FEET   OF    JESUS.  6S5 

revival  not  to  mention,  and  most  prominently,  the  singing  of 
gospel  hymns  under  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Sankcy,  the  modern 
sweet  singer,  or  rather,  sweet  and  mighty  singer  of  Israel.  His 
solos  have  been,  here  as  elsewhere,  most  wonderfully  used  of  God. 

Systematic  Visitation. 

During  the  long  agony  of  suspense  caused  by  the  unsettled 
question  of  the  Presidency,  there  was  a  lull  in  the  interest  first 
awakened  by  the  Tabernacle  meetings.  It  was  then  that  Mr. 
Moody  displayed  the  tact  and  generalship  for  which  he  is 
famous.  He  instituted  a  plan  for  visiting  people  at  their 
houses  and  places  of  business  and  resort,  to  compel  them  to 
come  in.     And  it  proved  a  grand  success. 

Sampson  Sz  Davenport,  publishers  of  the  city  directory,  were 
requested  to  divide  the  two  thousand  streets  and  lanes  of  this 
city  into  one  hundred  and  ten  districts,  grouped  about  the  one 
hundred  and  ten  evangelical  churches  and  chapels  of  the  city. 
These  churches  were  then  requested  to  appoint  visitors  to  can- 
vass the  districts,  and  ascertain  the  religious  condition  of  the 
seventy  thousand  families  within  the  city  limits.  Ninety  of  the 
churches  responded,  and  eighteen  hundred  visitors  were  sent 
into  the  field,  the  picked  men  and  women  of  the  city,  compris- 
ing some  of  its  best  business  talent. 

The  visitation  extended  to  the  saloons,  stables,  houses  of 
vice,  everywhere  that  admittance  could  be  obtained. 

Says  one :  The  reports  that  come  in  are  most  encouraging. 
The  visitors  are  almost  uniformly  received  with  kindness.  They 
find  every  where  traces  of  the  revival.  Liquor  dealers  frankly 
confess  that  their  sales  have  diminished.  Converts  are  found 
in  the  most  unlikely  places.  Fallen  women  have  been  rescued. 
Impressions  for  good  have  been  deepened,  and  hundreds 
brought  into  religious  meetings  and  under  spiritual  guidance. 
The  City  Missionary  reports  large  increase  of  interest  and  at- 
tendance at  all  the  mission  stations.  In  one  chapel,  as  many 
as  two  hundred  of  the  lowest  women  have  been  present  at  a 
single  meeting.  One  visitor  reports  fifteen  cases  of  religious 
interest  in   her  sub-district.     This  awakening  seems  to  differ 


656  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

from  most  others,  in  the  fact  of  its  prevalence  mainly  among 
the  men.  One  of  the  Cambridge  pastors  reports  that  it  is 
"making  a  clean  sweep,"  in  his  part  of  the  cit}-,  of  the  class 
known  as  "moral  men,"  who  have  heretofore  disclaimed  any 
need  of  an  atoning  Saviour.  Old  men,  who  have  seen  many 
seasons  of  revival,  say  they  never  knew  anything  like  the  work 
which  is  now  going  on  in  Cambridge. 

The  Tabernacle  seed-pod  has  ripened  and  burst,  and  out  of 
its  scattered  seeds  a  dozen  vigorous  and  fruitful  centres  of 
revival  effort  have  sprung  up.  Besides  the  daily  meetings  in 
Tremont  Temple  and  in  South  Boston,  East  Boston,  Charles- 
town,  Cambridge,  Chelsea,  and  the  Highlands,  there  are  several 
noon  meetings  for  business  men.  These  multiply  so  rapidly 
that  one  can  hardly  keep  track  of  them,  each  "business  "  want- 
ing one  for  itself.  The  dry-goods  men,  the  grocers,  the  market- 
men,  the  fish-mongers,  the  furniture  dealers,  the  boot  and  shoe 
dealers,  have  each  one  or  more  meetings.  They  spring  up 
spontaneously,  and  with  no  pressure,  and  for  the  most  part  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  Mr.  Moody.  To  give  his  own  account  of 
it:  "A  man  came  to  me  yesterday  afternoon  and  said  :  *  Have 
you  heard  that  there  has  been  a  prayer-meeting  of  wholesale 
grocerymen?'  'No,'  I  said.  *  Didn't  you  appoint  it  ? '  'No.' 
I  learned  afterwards  that  as  a  business  man  was  going  down  to 
his  office  he  was  approached  by  an  unconverted  man,  who 
asked  him  if  there  was  going  to  be  a  prayer-meeting  near  his 
place  of  business.  The  idea  of  holding  a  meeting  occurred  to 
him  then  for  the  first  time  ;  a  place  was  at  once  secured,  and 
notices  sent  around,  and  at  twelve  o'clock  there  were  over  two 
hundred  grocers  praying  in  Boston."  It  recalls  those  days  of 
separate  consciousness  and  activity  which  distinguished  the 
trades-guilds  in  the  old  Dutch  and  Flemish  cities  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  They  made  those  towns,  Bruges  and  Ghent  and  An- 
twerp, the  queens  of  commerce  and  of  wealth.  May  we  not 
expect  that  these  sacred  guilds  of  merchant-men  seeking  the 
pearl  of  great  price,  shall  set  Boston  in  the  same  imperial  place 
in  the  forefront  of  the  religious  world  which  she  has  occupied 
in  the  sphere  of  thought  and  culture. 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEET   OF    JESUS.  657 

These  meetings  brini;  together  each  day  probably  five  thou- 
sand men,  and  those  from  the  busiest  classes  in  the  busiest 
hours.  The  meetings  of  market- men  are  peculiarly  interesting 
as  well  as  of  extraordinary  power.  They  crowd  in  by  hundreds 
just  as  they  leave  their  stalls,  in  their  smock  frocks  and  over- 
alls. There  is  an  air  of  inten.'Je  reality  and  practicalness  about 
worship  and  th.^  pursuit  of  salvation  under  such  circumstances. 
A  large  part  of  the  meeting  is  occupied  by  the  plain,  blunt  tes- 
timonies of  those  who  have  laid  their  humble  and  believing 
hands  upon  God's  sacrificial  Lamb,  and  by  requests  for  prayer. 
Some  of  the  leading  men  in  this  business  have  been  converted, 
as  well  as  many  of  those  who  have  been  the  roughest  and  most 
profane.  The  most  notable,  because  most  unexpected,  acces- 
sion to  this  list  of  meetings  was  one  organized  yesterday  by 
"newspaper  men,"  that  is  to  say,  for  publishers,  writers  and 
printers.  In  the  establishment  of  one  of  our  leading  journals, 
answering  in  name,  type,  and  general  character  to  the  New 
York  Herald,  there  have  been  two  marked  conversions.  As  a 
result  of  the  revival,  a  notice  has  been  posted  over  the  "  adver- 
tising bureau  "  of  one  of  our  dailies,  that  no  advertisements  of  a 
dubious  character  will  henceforth  be  received.  All  these 
movements  are  independent  of  the  Tabernacle  services,  and 
would  now  go  forward  whether  those  services  were  held  or  not. 
It  is  already  assured  that  the  departure  of  the  evangelists  in 
May  (which  is  now  their  reconsidered  announcement)  will  hardly 
cause  a  ripple  in  the  onward  wave  of  revival  activities.  This 
month  of  April  is  confidently  expected  to  be  the  greatest  month 
in  all  the  spiritual  calendar  of  Boston.  Said  Mr.  Moody  on 
Sunda*  :  "  I  don't  think  there  will  be  another  month  perhaps 
in  your  day  or  mine  when  we  can  accomplish  so  much  for  God 
as  in  the  next  thirty  days  in  Boston.  I  was  converted  twenty- 
two  years  ago,  and  have  lived  in  cities  most  of  the  time  since 
then,  and  let  me  say  I  never  saw  such  a  time  as  I  am  seeing  to- 
day. I  stand  almost  in  wonder  and  amazement  at  what  is 
being  done.  It  .seems  to  me  as  if  God  had  come  and  taken 
right  hold  of  this  movement  Himself" 

An  address  to  the  churches  of  New  England  was  adopted  by 
28* 


658  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

the  ministers'  meeting.  It  goes  forth  signed  in  their  behalf  by 
Mr.  Moody.  It  begins  by  saying  :  "  We  are  filled  with  wonder, 
joy,  and  gratitude  in  view  of  the  awakening  among  all  classes 
of  men  in  Boston.  None  of  the  meetings  in  Great  Britain  or  in 
this  country  have  been  crowned  with  such  remarkable  success." 
It  suggests  an  "alliance"  for  concerted  evangelistic  eftbrt 
which  shall  include  every  church  in  sympathy  with  such  work 
throughout  New  England.  It  recommends  at  least  two  weeks 
of  daily  meetings,  beginning  with  Sunday,  April  8th,  and  the 
observance  of  April  12th  (which  is  the  State  Fast-day  in  Mas- 
sachusetts), as  a  day  of  humiliation  and  prayer  for  all  the 
churches  in  the  alliance. 

Mr.  Moody  is  now  superintending  twenty-two  meetings  a 
day.  The  noon  meetings  continue  to  deepen  in  interest.  So 
great  has  been  their  success,  in  connection  with  the  other  work, 
that  Mr.  Moody  lately  remarked  that  he  felt  no  more  anxiety; 
he  felt  like  just  standing  aside  and  seeing  the  Lord  work.  At 
the  Tremont  Temple  meeting  on  Thursday,  Messrs.  Moody  and 
Sankey  were  both  present.  The  case  was  mentioned  of  a  judge 
in  one  of  the  city  courts,  who  having  failed  twice  to  get  into  the 
Tabernacle,  on  account  of  the  crowds,  joined  the  choir  in  order 
to  obtain  a  singer's  ticket.  Within  a  day  or  two  he  was  con- 
verted, and  has  since  led  several  others  to  Christ.  As  many  as 
two  hundred  rose  when  Mr.  Moody  asked  an  expression  from 
those  who  had  been  recently  blessed  in  their  families,  their 
]jarishes,  or  in  their  own  conversion.  Forty  or  more  rose  for 
prayers.  It  is  a  touching  sight  to  me  to  see  men  of  the  class 
and  standing  collected  in  these  meetings  rise  to  be  prayed  for. 

Interesting  facts  are  reported  from  all  the  meetings.  Two 
partners  in  a  grocers'  firm,  well  known  in  trade,  have  been  con- 
nected with  the  congregation  of  Rev.  Mr.  Savage.  The  senior 
of  the  firm  was  present  lately  at  one  of  the  noon  meetings.  He 
remained  to  the  inquiry  meeting.  Mr.  Moody  spoke  with  him. 
In  response,  he  frankly  said  he  didn't  know  about  himself.  He 
had  no  particular  interest  in  religion.  In  a  brief,  simple  way 
Mr.  Moody  explained  to  him  the  plan  of  salvation.  "Why," 
said    he,    "  I    never    heard    anything   of    that    kind     before." 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  659 

"Wouldn't  you  like  to  kneel  right  here,"  Mr.  Moody  said,  "and 
pray  with  me  that  your  sins  may  be  forgiven.^"  The  two  knelt, 
and  after  Mr.  Moody  had  prayed  the  gentleman  fcrvenily  prayed 
for  himself:  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  They  rose,  and 
at  once,  and  with  an  expression  of  joyful  surprise,  he  exclaimed  : 
"This  is  something  that  I  can  not  understand.  But  I  feel  en- 
tirely different.  A  great  load  is  gone.  I  am  a  new  man."  He 
called  at  once  to  his  partner,  who  was  standing  a  little  distance 
away,  in  amazement  surveying  the  strange  scene:  "Come  here, 
Josh,"  he  said  :  "  I've  been  converted.  If  you  do  as  I  did,  you 
can  be  converted  too."  The  partner  was  soon  j^crsuaded.  He 
knelt.  He  offered  the  same  prayer.  He  too  rose  a  new  man. 
The  next  day  both  of  them  gave  their  testimony  at  the  grocers' 
meeting. 

Among  the  interesting  new  meetings  was  one  fur  members 
of  the  press.  The  first  meeting,  presided  over  by  the  leading 
editor  of  the  Boston  your/ia/,  was  attended  by  a  hundred  and 
twenty  persons,  embracing  representatives  of  almost  all  the 
papers,  among  whom  there  were  several  newly-converted  men, 
whose  sudden  abandonment  of  old  habits  produced  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  their  associates. 

One  of  them  spoke  of  an  acquaintance  in  the  office  where  he 
himself  was  employed,  whom  he  described  as  a  man  versed  in  all 
kinds  of  learning,  ancient  and  modern,  but  ignorant  of  the  Chris- 
tian Scriptures.  He  had  simply  neglected  them,  believing  them 
to  be  a  collection  of  writings  in  which  a  scholar  could  take  no 
interest.  Lately,  he  had  commenced  reading  them,  and  was 
not  only  fascinated,  but  profoundly  affected,  by  what  he  had  dis- 
covered, and  could  not  express  his  wonder  that  he  had  never 
examined  the  book  before. 

Now  to  our  mind,  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  these 
prayers  that  have  been  so  wonderfully  answered  in  connection 
with  the  Tabernacle  meetings,  has  been  that  they  were  prompted 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  random  prayers  have  not  been  thus  an- 
swered. The  random  workers  have  not  been  thus  rewarded.  But 
those  workers  who  have  tried  to  be  raised  into  that  higher  realm 
of  the  Spirit,  and  then  in  their  prayers  and  efibrls  have  studied 


66o  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

to  follow  the  Spirit's  direction, — these  have  been  the  per- 
sons in  whom  we  have  witnessed  the  remarkable  answers  to 
prayer. 

To  illustrate:  A  young  man  from  a  neighboring  city  attended 
one  of  the  noon  meetings  at  the  Tabernacle  last  week.  He 
entered  into  its  spirit.  He  aspired  to  help  some  of  those  who 
were  evidently  enslaved  by  appetite.  He  saw,  a  third  of  the 
way  across  the  room,  a  young  man,  a  stranger  to  him,  but  who 
appeared  to  be  in  a  mental  struggle.  He  approached  him — 
soon  learned  his  story — he  had  become  degraded  by  drink,  had 
consequently  lost  a  position  with  a  salary  of  three  thousand  a 
year,  was  almost  in  despair,  and  that  very  morning  had  failed 
in  an  attempt  at  suicide.  Now  the  point  is,  that  the  two  per- 
sons were  found  to  have  had  a  similar  experience.  The  first 
one  had,  several  years  before,  conquered  just  such  an  appetite 
as  this  through  the  grace  of  God,  and  remained  steadfast  through 
that  same  grace.  Hence  he  was  able  to  sympathize  with  his 
new  made  acquaintance,  to  assure  him  of  divine  help,  and  in  an 
important  sense  to  lead  him  to  the  Rock.  Prayer  was  proposed. 
They  both  knelt.  A  few  minutes'  conversation  followed.  Hope 
and  light  had  begun  to  dawn.  The  two  men  exchanged  ad- 
dresses, and  parted.  A  week  afterwards  we  were  shown  a  brief 
letter  from  the  young  man  who  had  sought  divine  help,  in 
which  he  told  in  warm,  breathing  words  of  his  hope  in  Christ,  of 
his  assurance  that  the  Spirit  helped  his  infirmity,  and  of  his 
purpose  to  continue  in  the  new  way. 

We  believe  that  it  was  the  Holy  Spirit  that  sent  one  of  these 
two  men  to  help  the  other,  and  that  the  result  was  due  to  obey- 
ing that  Spirit.  See  how  well  calculated  the  first  person  was 
to  help  the  other.  If  he  had  simply  tried  to  help  people  at  ran- 
dom, as  he  came  to  them  in  the  Tabernacle,  we  do  not  believe 
that  any  such  result  would  have  followed. 

A  gentleman  profoundly  moved  by  the  revival,  strove  to  as- 
certain the  secret  of  its  power  : 

Those  soundings  which  I  took  were  deep  sea  soundings,  too 
deep  to  touch  bottom  at  all,  for  God  is  there.  It  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  what  he  himself  calls  '*  Holy-Ghost  power," 


BOSTON   AT   THE    FEET    OF    JESUS.  66l 

a  something  which  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  any  other  work 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  A  man  may  be  regenerated,  may  be  sanc- 
tified, may  be  filled  with  all  peace  and  consolation,  may  even 
be  inspired,  and  yet  he  may  not  have  this  power  for  service  and 
for  saving  men.  This  is  a  gift  quite  as  much  as  a  grace,  and  a 
special  gift  which  is  received  only  as  one  receives  the  lailh  to 
take  it,  and  as  one  succeeds  in  sinking  out  of  himself  that  God 
may  fill  the  voitl  and  work  unhindered  through  him.  Such,  at 
least,  is  Mr.  Moody's  theory  ;  and  on  no  other  theory  can  Moody 
himself  be  explained.  A  power,  which  is  not  himself,  accom- 
panies him.  He  knows  its  ebb  and  flow  by  the  effect  upon 
others  quite  as  much  as  by  his  own  consciousness.  The  experi- 
ence of  years  and  of  all  sorts  of  differing  situations  has  shown 
him  that  the  tides  are  no  more  subject  to  the  rhythmic  pulses 
of  the  moon  than  is  this  success  in  winning  souls  conditioned 
upon  and  proportioned  to  the  complete  possession  of  his  own 
soul  by  the  power  of  God's  Spirit.  It  makes  him  mighty  in 
prayer.  I  never  heard  any  one  pray  as  he  does,  so  pleadingly 
and  yet  with  such  childlike  expectancy.  There  is  nothing 
crushing  about  the  burden  which  he  bears  to  God,  but  it  stills 
his  heart  and  hushes  his  tones  and  draws  him  into  an  intenser 
sympathy  with  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  and  drives  him  with  a 
perfect  love  that  casts  out  fear  into  an  asking  which  has  no 
thought  of  the  Father's  refusal.  He  exhibits  a  concentration 
of  mind  and  purpose  so  intense,  that  it  makes  him  preternat- 
urally  observant  and  present-minded.  He  is  so  poised,  that 
there  is  absolute  repose  of  manner.  The  power  within  jars  not 
the  engine  itself,  but  acts  only  on  the  work  to  which  it  is  set. 
His  faith  is  so  fixed  on  God,  that  he  is  never  anxious,  neither 
"  makes  haste/'  neither  feels  that  the  end  is  forfeited  because 
the  means  are  unhinged  or  wanting.  Like  the  calm  sea,  this 
power  is  far  below  the  surface — in  the  undertow.  And  it  re- 
veals itseF  to  my  ear  by  a  sea-like  undertone,  in  all  his  speech. 
Though  artlessly  and  unconsciously  so,  his  voice  is  the  most 
sympathetic  I  ever  heard.  There  are  tears  in  every  tone.  Be- 
hind is  the  sorrow  of  the  sea,  the  sob  of  a  mother-heart,  the 
tender  trouble  of  a  soul  that  looks  down  from  the  bosom  of  Him 


662  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

who  wept  over  Jerusalem.  His  is  the  passion  which  becomes 
power,  because  repressed. 

Joseph  Cook's  analysis  is  this  :  The  secret  of  Mr.  Moody's 
great  usefulness  is  in  a  combination  of  three  things — his  total 
and  immeasurably  glad  self-surrender  to  God ;  his  fervid 
oratory,  alive  in  every  part  with  biblical  truth  ;  practical  sagacity 
and  fathomlessly  genuine  consent  to  conscience,  and  his  most 
uncommon  good-sense  in  organizing  religious  effort  in  those 
forms  which  bring  the  converted  and  the  unconverted  face  to 
face  in  conversation,  biblical  study  and  prayer. 

In  further  illustration  of  these  points  we  quote  from  one  who 
says  :  And  now  he  comes  in,  stepping  rapidly,  looking  quickly 
about  him,  and  taking  in  the  whole  situation  at  a  glance.  The 
newspapers  of  Boston  have  discovered  his  remarkable  resem- 
blance to  General  Grant.  He  certainly  bears  this  likeness  in 
his  person,  and  not  less  in  some  of  those  qualities  of  decision, 
self-reliance  and  perseverance  which  distinguished  the  captor 
of  Richmond.  I  would  he  might  stand  before  President  Grant 
as  Paul  before  Agrippa,  and  that  our  late  Chief-magistrate 
were  altogether  such  as  he  is  in  the  "secret  man  of  the  heart." 
Moody  is  certainly  a  general,  in  every  inch  of  him.  He  sees 
everything,  hears  everything,  directs  everything,  impresses 
everything  with  his  personality  and  force.  Nothing  occurring  in 
his  meetings  has  ever  thrown  him  off  his  balance,  or  failed  to 
be  wrested  to  his  advantage. 

In  the  ministers'  meetings,  good  brethren  will  sometimes  in- 
dulge in  scraps  of  sermons  and  speculation,  but  he  always  brings 
the  meeting  back  to  the  strategetic  point  without  offending  the 
erring  brother.  For  instance,  an  enthusiastic  minister  went  off 
into  an  eloquent  disquisition,  wherein  he  showed  how  God  had 
wrought  in  the  Church  by  great  eras,  such  as  the  Reformation, 
the  Wesleyan  revival,  etc.,  and  expressed  his  conviction  that  we 
had  now  reached  another  great  era.  Mr.  Moody,  who  had  got 
the  ministers  together  solely  that  they  might  get  their  own  hearts 
right  before  God,  struck  in  with  his  marvelous  forcible-kindliness 
of  manner,  with  the  remark,  "  We  have  switched  off  the  track, 
brethren  ;  \^hat  we  want  is  a  new  era  in  our  own  souls  ;  we  have 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  663 

nothing  now  to  do  with  others;  let  us  sec  to  it  that  the  epoch 
of  reformation  and  revival  has  come  to  you  and  me."     The  min- 
isters' meetings  are  the  most  powerful  meetings  for  reality,  hum- 
bleness of  heart,  frank  confession  and  practical  intensity,  that 
it  was  ever  my  privilege  to  attend.     He  always  reads  a  portion 
of  Scripture,  with   more  or  less  of  racy  and  vivid  comment. 
These  selections   are  usually  incidents  of  Scripture  narrative, 
and  constitute  the  theme  of  his  discourse.     His  greatest  gift  of 
speech  is  that  of  a  story-teller.     His  imagination  is  homely  but 
intense,  so   that  he   translates  his  hearers  to  the  very  scene. 
This  curious  way  of  dressing  up  the  first  century  in  the  habili- 
ments of  the  nineteenth,  and  transporting  Jerusalem  to  Tremont 
street,  Boston,  may  be  the   despair  of  archaeologists,  but  is  ex- 
ceedingly graphic,  and   brings  home   the  truth  with  wondrous 
power.     People  are  amazed  at  such  popular  success  in  a  man 
of  so  little  learning  and  culture,  but  the  fact  is  that  herein  is  his 
great  vantage-ground.     He  is  fettered   by  no  embarrassments 
arising  from  cultured  tastes  or  exact  learning,  nor  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  these  in  his  hearers.    The  common  people  hear  him 
gladly,  as  one  of  themselves,  and  the  cultured  and  learned  are 
disarmed  of  their  fastidiousness  and  thrown  off  from  their  criti- 
cal attitude.     He  makes  up  for  want  of  polish  by  intense/^////. 
As   I  look   down  upon  the  sea  of  faces,  I  perceive  that  every- 
thing "tells."     There  is  not  a  particle  of  "padding"   in   his 
talks.     His  sermon  is  not  one  long,  keen,  glittering  lance,  but 
a  homiletic  porcypine,  bristling  with  points  and  shooting  forth 
one    at   every    sentence.     Everybody  feels,  too,  that  this  man 
"means  business."     His  manner  of  speaking,  as   well  as  his 
way  of  putting  things,  constantly  reminds  me  of  an  auctioneer, 
offering  the  pearl  of  great  price  to  eager  bidders.     The  same 
rapid,  loud,   incisive  tones,   the  same    driving  straight  to  his 
object,  the  same  mingling  of  the  imperative  and  the  pleading, 
the  same  watchfulness  of  signs  and  indications  in  his  auditors. 

What  a  physique  God  has  given  him  !  One  day,  for  instance, 
he  conducted  five  meetings,  preaching  three  times  long  dis- 
courses, besides  constant  conversation  with  inquirers  and  others. 
Rough  and  swarthy,  and  with  the  general  cut  and  build  of  a 


664  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

Morrissey,  yet  with  a  power  of  gentleness,  and  a  depth  of  re- 
pressed emotion,  which  are  like  the  sweetness  stored  within  the 
rugged  rind  of  tropical  fruits.  I  have  sat  and  watched  his  face 
while  speaking.  I  think  I  never  saw  so  soft  and  gentle  an  eye 
as  that  which  is  sunk  in  the  depths  of  that  dark  and  homely 
face.  It  is  liquid  and  limpid  with  a  perpetual  and  profound 
love.  It  expresses,  no  less,  the  shaded  and  shrinking  light  of 
a  reverent  spirit,  always  in  godly  awe  of  the  divine  glories  upon 
which  it  looks.  No  one  can  interpret  the  man  or  the  manner 
who  is  not  near  enough  to  look  into  the  mirror  of  that  Galilean 
lake,  as  it  lies  under  the  shadowed  light  of  the  Master's  pres- 
ence. 

Notable  Conversions. 

There  may  be  much  wisdom  exhibited  in  the  managing  of 
these  immense  meetings,  and  many  observable  signs  of  power 
and  adaptation  to  the  work;  but  after  all,  it  is  not  possible  to 
accountfor  the  results  if  we  leave  the  supernatural  element  out  of 
the  question.  God  is  pleased  to,  and  does,  work  with  them  ; 
so  the  blind  receive  their  sight,  intemperate  lepers  are  healed, 
the  lame  walk,  the  dead  live,  and  the  poor  have  the  Gospel 
preached  to  them.  Said  Mr.  Moody :  Business  men  are  waking 
up  and  sending  up  prayers  to  the  Son  of  God.  These  are  the 
days  of  which  the  Scriptures  prophesy.  We  are  living  in  the 
days  of  the  Son  of  God.  Now,  while  the  spirit  of  God  is  abroad 
and  men  are  inquiring  what  these  things  mean,  shall  we  not  be 
up  and  doing  .-•  "  If  you  follow  me  ye  shall  be  fishers  of  men." 
Last  Friday  night  a  man  came  into  the  inquiry-room  and  told 
me  that  he  had  cursed  me,  and  I  said,  "  Why,  what  did  you 
curse  me  for.-*"  Well,  he  said  he  had  been  separated  from  his 
wife,  and  he  had  not  seen  her  for  some  time,  but  that  he  met 
her  the  other  night  and  she  had  asked  him  to  come  to  the 
'iabcrnacle,  and  he  cursed  her  and  he  cursed  me.  He  cursed 
me  and  said  I  was  a  great  fraud,  and  then  he  continued,  ''  I 
was  going  up  Tremont  Street  and  I  had  noJntention  of  coming 
in  here,  but  I  was  drawn  by  some  unseen  power.  God  met  me 
and  gave  me    a    new    heart."     This    morning   that    man    was 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  66$ 

here  with  his  wife,  and  a  happier  couple  you  could  not  see 
in  al.  Boston.  Saved !  saved  by  that  woman's  going  for  him. 
There  are  many  that  can  be  saved  and  we  have  got  to  seek 
them  out.  It  is  time  for  us  to  be  in  the  harvest  field  ;  the  crops 
are  already  white.  Blessed  time.  1  am  going  to  ask  General 
Swift  to  tell  us  what  the  Lord  has  done  for  his  soul.  General 
Swift  then  stepped  forward  and  spoke  as  follows  :  Whatever  I 
can  do  in  speaking  will  be  by  telling  my  story  as  briefly  and 
plainly  as  I  can.  I  never  doubted  the  existence  of  God.  Since 
I  came  to  observe  things,  the  rising  and  the  setting  sun,  and  the 
sea  and  the  sky  and  all  the  marvel  of  the  seasons,  have  been 
proof  to  me  that  there  must  be  a  Supreme  Being  that  was  the 
cause  of  all  life  and  the  source  of  all  truth,  but  as  for  any  de- 
pendence upon  that  Being,  any  communion  with  Him,  and  trust- 
ing Him,  I  was  as  absolutely  indifferent  as  a  savage  or  a  pagan. 
But  while  living  in  this  world  many  years  and  living  like  the 
world,  my  father  and  my  mother  and  my  wife  and  my  sisters 
and  many  friends  were  pouring  their  prayers  into  heaven  and 
pleading  there  for  me,  and  their  prayers  were  heard  and  I  be- 
came intellectually  convinced  that  there  was  nothing  to  a  human 
being  of  such  concern  to  him  as  the  welfare  of  his  own  soul.  I 
knew  well  enough  that  I  had  had  evil  and  good  put  before  me, 
and  that  I  had  deliberately  chosen  the  evil  and  ihat  there  stood 
against  me  a  sum  of  sin.  There  it  stood — the  fact  could  not  be 
denied  :  no  shoddy  metaphysics,  no  fancy  logic,  no  trick  of  rea- 
son could  delude  me  widi  the  idea  that  I  could  forgive  my  own 
sin.  I  was  too  sensible  for  that,  and  I  anxiously  looked  into 
the  Bible  for  help,  and  I  found  that  if  that  book  didn't  under- 
stand anything  else  in  the  world  it  understood  the  nature  and 
the  condition  and  the  wants  of  my  soul  with  unerring  accuracy. 
I  saw  I  wanted  a  new  nature  if  any  man  did,  and  I  found  that 
I  and  all  other  men  could  accept  the  plan  of  salvation  provided 
by  the  wisdom  and  the  love  of  God,  and  obtain  a  new  heart  and 
live  in  Him  and  for  Him,  or  I  and  all  other  men  could  reject 
that  plan,  and  we  could  have  our  old  natures  and  live  without 
Him  here  and  for  hereafter.  I  chose  deliberately  to  give  my- 
self up  to  that  Saviour  who  by  the  passion  of  the  cross  had 


666  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

given  Himself  to  death  for  me.  I  chose,  I  say,  to  do  this,  but 
I  determined  at  first  to  do  it  all  alone  by  myself,  very  quietly  in 
the  silence  of  my  own  chamber,  with  no  one  but  Almighty  God 
as  my  confidant.  One  Sunday  evening,  altogether  beyond  any 
arrangement  of  mine,  without  the  slightest  intention  of  so  doing, 
and  now  it  seems  to  me  guided  by  the  hand  of  the  power  above 
me,  I  was  led  into  the  Tabernacle.  I  don't  know  how  Mr.  Moody 
knew  I  was  there,  but  he  did.  I  never  spoke  to  him  in  my  life 
till  this  noon,  and  yet  he  evidently  got  up  that  sermon  expressly 
for  me,  because  every  sentence  in  it,  like  a  rifle  shot,  went  to  my 
heart ;  it  was  the  sermon  upon  the  "  Precious  Will,"  and  the  main 
scene  was  "Whosoever  will  confess  Me  before  men,  him  will  I 
confess  before  My  Father  in  Heaven."  Ah,  those  words  "  Con- 
fess before  men  "  rang  in  my  ears  ;  they  seemed  like  a  bolt  coming 
from  the  skies  with  the  light  of  the  throne  upon  them,  and  I  did 
confess  before  men.  I  told  my  story  with  the  weakest  knees  I 
ever  had  in  my  life,  but  there  came  to  me  that  consciousness, 
which  is  the  only  test  of  spiritual  knowledge,  that  pardon  and 
help  from  God  had  come  to  me ;  and  I  stand  here  these  few 
minutes  in  the  centre  of  this  city  as  one  of  the  later  witnesses, 
and  my  testimony,  like  all  the  martyrs  and  all  the  believers  that 
in  song  and  prayer  have  told  of  the  unspeakable  worth  of  salva- 
tion, is  but  one  more  witness.  There  are  men  here,  many  of 
them,  that  know  me.  They  know  what  I  say  now  to  be  true, 
that  I  have  shared  in  this  city  I  love,  as  many  social  and  as 
many  public  occasions  as  any  man  in  it,  on  land  or  on  sea.  I 
have  mingled  in  scenes  of  festivities,  and  Boston  has  no  pleasure, 
not  a  pleasure,  untasted  by  me.  I  know  it  through  and  through. 
I  have  sampled  this  world's  goods  in  all  their  variety,  and  I  have 
sampled  the  promises  of  my  Father  in  Heaven.  I  tell  you,  with 
the  solemnity  of  this  hour  upon  me,  that  a  crowded  life  of  what 
is  called  enjoyment,  compacted  into  one  glowing  whole,  cannot 
equal  two  weeks  of  that  peace  which  comes  with  prayer  and  with 
certainty  that  my  feet  are  on  the  Rock  of  Ages.  Oh,  may  God 
help  me  to  touch  some  heart  here  to-day.  In  a  very  few  years,  a 
very  few  years,  my  friends,  we  shall  all  be  standing  upon  the  bolder 
of  the  shoreless  sea,  and  then,  with  the  chill  of  death  upon  our 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEET    OF    JESUS.  667 

faces,  we  must  either  hear  the  condemnation,  "  lie  that  is  unjust 
let  him  be  unjust  still,"  or,  having  touched  the  hem  of  His  gar- 
ment, we  shall  look  beyond  and  see  the  beckoning  hand  and  the 
shining  face,  and  hear  the  beloved  voice  welcoming  us  with  these 
words,  "Come  unto  Me,  ye  blessed  of  My  Father,  inherit  the 
kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 
During  the  delivery  of  this  address  the  speaker  himself  was 
visibly  affected,  as  were  also  many  of  the  audience,  who  mani- 
fested their  emotion  throu2:h  the  silent  lan^uase  of  tears. 

Judge  Baldwin,  of  Brighton,  said  he  had  been  to  the  Taber- 
nacle three  times,  but  could  not  gain  admission  because  of  the 
crowd,  but  he  finally  secured  a  choir  ticket,  when  he  heard  Mr. 
Moody  say,  "You  can  get  converted  now  if  you  will  but  receive 
the  Holy  Spirit."  He  took  him  at  his  word,  and  now  he  thanked 
God  he  was  on  the  Lord's  side.  He  said  there  had  been  a  re- 
vival in  his  little  church  and  fifty  had  been  converted. 

Mr.  Benjamin  F.  Palmer  of  the  Boston  Herald  spoke  briefly, 
saying  that  probably  to  nearly  all  present  he  was  unknown,  yet 
there  were  a  few  of  his  business  associates  in  the  meeting  who 
knew  all  about  him.  He  had  had  struggles  and  gained  the 
victory,  with  the  help  of  his  Maker,  such  as  he  never  could 
combat  successfully  before,  and  he  hoped  and  prayed  for 
strength  to  live  a  better  life.  He  had  lived  a  wild,  rolicksome 
and  blasphemous  life,  and  his  associates  knew  what  he  meant. 
Some  of  his  associates  had  approached  him  and  inquired  if  he 
had  been  converted,  and  were  completely  astonished.  He  was 
glad  to  testify  that  he  had  found  a  Saviour,  and  asked  that  his 
associates  would  help  him  in  his  new  life,  and  he  concluded  by 
expressing  the  hope  that  his  friends  and  associates  might  be- 
come partakers  of  salvation,  and  he  asked  prayers  in  their 
behalf.  He  said  that  he  believed  there  was  no  other  name  but 
that  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  whereby  we  may  be  saved.  I 
want  to  say  one  other  thing,  said  he,  and  only  one  thing,  and 
that  is  the  importance  of  personal  effort  among  our  acquaint- 
ances. There  is  no  one  here  but  who  ought  to  feel  the  dread- 
ful curse  that  rum  is.  Every  one  who  drinks  at  all  has  some 
friend  that  he  may  do  something  for.     I  have  found  that  already 


668  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

in  this  short  experience  of  mine  ;  I  am  but  learning  my  alpha- 
bet in  this  matter,  but  I  know  that  those  who  strive  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ  will  gain  a  power  which  sets  persons  thinking,  if 
nothing  more.  Mr.  Moody — How  about  your  appetite ;  does  it 
trouble  you?  Mr.  Palmer — It  does  not  trouble  me  at  all.  It 
is  either  entirely  destroyed  or  is  wholly  under  subjectioa. 

A  young  man  then  rose  and  said  :  "  I  suppose,  Mr.  Moody, 
that  you  would  have  called  me  an  infidel  two  weeks  ago.  I 
was  a  great  doubter  of  the  Bible.  I  believed  vaguely  in  God, 
but  had  very  little  faith  in  Him.  This  want  of  faith  was  proba- 
bly in  consequence  of  not  ever  having  any  direct  evidence  of 
God's  power.  I  read  the  Bible  a  good  deal,  I  must  confess  ; 
but  I  derived  very  little  help  from  its  perusal.  Of  course,  dis- 
believing in  the  Bible  as  I  unquestionably  did,  you  may  ask  me 
v.'hy  I  read  the  Holy  Book  at  all.  I  was  in  search  of  evidence 
of  Christ's  reputed  power.  Finding  no  relief  in  the  Bible,  I  at- 
tended Mr.  Moody's  meetings  in  the  Tabernacle.  I  went  to 
these  meetings  out  of  curiosity,  and  I  came  away  greatly  puzzled 
with  myself  but  not  satisfied.  I  kept  going  to  the  Tabernacle 
meetings,  but  they  didn't  seem  to  do  me  any  good  whatever.  I 
then  went  to  studying  the  Bible  again  in  the  hope  of  finding 
some  evidence  which,  perhaps,  I  might  previously  have  over- 
looked ;  but  it  was  no  use  ;  I  could  get  no  help.  I  then  got 
Nelson's  book  on  '  Infidelity,'  and  I  had  not  studied  that  a 
great  while  before  my  eyes  seemed  to  be  opened  to  my  true  po- 
sition. I  now  saw  my  foolishness  in  trying  to  worship  God 
without  a  particle  of  faith  in  my  heart.  Thank  God,  my  friends, 
I  can  tell  you  all  to-night  that  I  have  received  that  faith,  and  in 
my  heart  I  think  God  has  received  me."  Then  Messrs.  George 
Wilson,  Wentworth  and  Soule  gave  their  testimony  as  to  what 
the  Lord  had  done  for  them.  As  the  latter  gentleman  con- 
cluded, Mr.  Moody  said  :  "  This  man  who  has  just  sat  down 
lost  a  little  son  about  three  months  ago  ;  and  he  told  me  that 
Satan  had  tempted  him  to  take  to  drinking  wine  to  drown  his 
trouble.  Ah  !  what  a  mean  devil  that  is,  who  seeks  to  ruin  us 
in  the  very  hour  of  our  affliction.  But  the  grace  of  God  was 
sufficient  for  him.     One  of  the  reasons  1  asked  Mr.  Soule  to 


BOSTON    AT    THE    FEET   OF    JESUS.  669 

speak  was.  to  show  that  God  keeps  a  man.  Vou  know  that 
there  is  a  spirit  of  unbelief  abroad.  Many  men  in  IJosion  are 
saying,  '  O,  this  is  only  surface  work  ;  it  won't  last  ;  '  and  if  a 
man  falls  they  will  rejoice  and  be  glad  and  say,  *  What  did  I 
tell  you?  That's  just  what  I  prophesied  ! '  Well,  here  is  Mr. 
Soule,  who  has  been  kept  for  a  year  and  three  months  ;  and  I 
believe  that  the  Spirit  of  God  can  keep  him  from  falling  all  the 
rest  of  his  life.  Just  keep  praying  and  God  will  keep  you. 
Don't  think  from  what  I  said  about  a  man's  falling  that  there  is 
any  necessity  for  his  fiilling.  I  don't  believe  there  is  a  re- 
formed man  here  to-day  who  needs  to  pass  through  that  expe- 
rience. There  is  no  need  of  your  falling  ;  it  will  be  your  own 
fault  if  you  do  fall.  Just  keep  close  to  Christ  and  you'll  not 
fall.  I  hope  all  of  you  men  who  have  been  reclaimed  during 
the  past  three  months  will  stand  not  for  a  year  only,  but  so  that 
they  may  stand  at  last  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 

"  Do  you  see  that  man  }  "  said  one  of  the  regular  leaders  of  the 
meetings,  directing  our  eyes  to  a  quiet,  cleanly  person,  intently 
listening  at  the  praise  meeting.  "  It  was  as  much  as  four  of 
us  could  do,  a  week  or  two  since,  to  carry  him  out  of  the 
Tabernacle,  howling  and  cursing,  perfectly  insane  with  liquor. 
Now  he  is  eag^  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  save  others,  and  bears 
his  constant  testimony  in  the  meetings  for  men." 

"  A  business  man  showing  a  lady  a  piece  of  lace,  was  asked 
by  her  the  question,  '  Is  it  English  .''  '  He  was  about  to  say, 
"Yes  ;'  but  checked  himself,  and,  resolving  to  be  honest,  said  : 
*  Madam,  it  was  English  till  Moody  and  Sankey  came,  but  now 
it  is  American.'  " 

Mr.  Moody  said  :  "  At  the  close  of  one  of  the  meetings  at  the 
Berkeley  Street  church,  a  few  weeks  ago,  a  little  girl  brought  me 
this  note  :  '  Won't  you  pray  that  my  mother  may  come  home  } ' 
On  inquiry  I  found  that  she  was  a  little  waif ;  her  father  was 
dead,  and  her  mother  had  deserted  her  and  gone  out  to  San 
Francisco,  and  been  gone  over  a  year.  My  faith  was  somewhat 
staggered.  But  this  note  has  just  been  handed  me  :  'You  will 
remember  the  little  waif  who  asked  prayers  for  her  mother  to 
return  to  her.     This  mother  has  returned,  and  was  at  the  meet- 


670  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

ing,  with  her  child  Friday  night.  The  little  child  now  wants  us 
to  pray  that  her  mother  may  be  converted.' " 

Mr.  Moody,  with  the  audible  sympathy  of  some  in  the  con- 
gregation, prayed  for  both  the  child  and  her  mother. 

A  business  man  of  Boston,  but  a  hard  drinker,  was  taken  by 
a  friend  to  see  Mr.  Moody.  He  offered  Mr.  Moody  a  thousand 
dollars  to  cure  him  of  his  appetite  for  liquor.  He  was  pointed 
at  once  to  the  great  Physician,  and  prayed  for.  That  night, 
while  in  his  own  home,  surrounded  by  praying  friends,  about 
twelve  o'clock,  he  found  deliverance.  He  has  abolished  rum 
and  tobacco,  he  has  no  appetite  for  liquor,  and  is  one  of  the 
happiest  Christians  in  the  city. 

An  intemperate  man  came  to  the  city  on  Saturday  evening, 
to  visit  his  daughter.  To  her  distress  and  that  of  the  friends 
with  whom  she  lived,  he  drank  that  evening.  But  Sunday 
morning  he  was  in  church  and  was  much  moved.  He  remained 
in  the  afternoon  to  the  inquiry  meeting.  There  I  saw  him  kneel- 
ing, with  his  little  daughter  on  one  side  and  three  friends  close 
by.  One  followed  another  in  most  fervent  prayer.  Then  I 
heard  his  voice.  He  was  praying  for  himself.  In  the  evening, 
among  a  large  number  who  professed  a  new-found  hope,  he  tes- 
tified. The  answers  to  prayer  are  remark;^le.  Skeptics, 
Catholics,  moralists  yield  as  readily  now  as  I  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  see  children  in  ordinary  revivals. 

Said  Mr.  Moody  :  "  A  man  came  into  our  meeting  in  the 
Hippodrome  the  last  night  we  were  there,  and  1  have  been  anx- 
ious to  hear  how  he  was  getting  along,  and  this  week  I  heard 
from  him.  He  was  not  only  a  tramp,  but  he  had  got  down  about 
as  low  as  any  tramp  could  get.  His  will  power  was  all  gone. 
He  had  no  rags  to  cover  his  nakedness.  He  was  "as  filthy  and 
as  far  gone  as  any  man  I  have  ever  seen.  He  came  into  the  Fri- 
day meeting  and  staid  to  the  second  meeting,  and  some  friends 
prayed  with  him  ;  whether  they  effected  any  change  in  him  at 
that  time,  I  don't  know.  He  told  them  he  didn't  know  anything 
about  Jesus.  He  said,  "  He  won't  answer  my  prayer,  I  am  so 
great  a  sinner."  But  tliis  was  his  experience  as  he  narrated  it 
to  rac  afterwards.     He  said  he  had  a  fifteen-cent  scrip  in  his 


BOSTON    AT    THE    FEET    OF    JESUS.  67 1 

pocket,  and  he  said  the  first  day  after,  ''  If  the  Lord  will  help  me 
keep  that  piece  of  scrip  twenty-four  hours  I  will  take  that  as  a 
token  he  will  answer  my  prayer.  If  I  shall  just  be  able  to  walk 
through  the  streets  of  New  York  twenty-four  hours  without  spend- 
ing it  for  whiskey  I  will  take  that  as  an  answer  to  my  prayer." 
He  had  no  place  to  lay  his  head,  but  wandered  about  the  streets 
all  that  time,  and  when  he  came  back  to  me  afterwards  and  I 
asked  him  how  he  was  getting  along,  all  he  said  was  "  I  have  got 
it  now."  I  heard  from  him  last  week,  and  he  said  '*  I  have  got  it 
now."  He  hadn't  spent  it  for  whiskey.  He  says  he  intends  to 
keep  that  piece  of  currency  as  long  as  he  lives.  God  help  him 
to  do  it  !     That  shows  how  God  can  save  the  poor  drunkard. 

Just  as  I  was  coming  into  the  hall  a  gentleman  came  and 
handed  me  this  letter  and  went  out.  I  should  like  to  have  seen 
him,  if  I  had  known  the  contents  of  the  letter.  If  he  is  here  I 
hope  he  will  meet  me  in  the  lower  hall  at  the  close  of  this 
meeting.     Let  me  read  it  to  you  : 

March  27 — Tuesday  P.  M. 

Having  been  led  to  attend  your  meetings  by  the  entreaties  of 
my  wife,  well  known  to  many  in  this  city  by  her  Christian  charac- 
ter, and  whose  feelings  I  have  often  grieved  by  infidel  arguments 
and  skeptical  replies  to  her  kind  entreaties,  I  find  myself  in  a 
condition  of  mind  which  admits  of  no  rest  until  this  matter  is 
settled,  and  I  have  for  the  past  week,  unknown  to  her,  been 
praying  day  and  night  in  the  house,  in  the  office,  on  the  street, 
'•  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  and  tried  fully  to  accept  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  my  Saviour,  and  asked  Him  to  receive  me, 
penitent,  weak  and  worthless  as  I  am,  and  to  teach  me  my  duties 
towards  Him,  and  to  increase  my  faith  so  that  all  my  doubts 
may  be  removed  and  I  may  have  peace  of  mind  and  some 
assurance  of  being  accepted  of  Him.  Unwilling  to  take  your 
time  for  a  personal  interview,  I  request  that  prayers  may  be 
offered  in  my  behalf  at  Tremont  Temple  noon  meeting,  or  else- 
where, as  you  miy  think  proper.     With  sincere  regards, 

I  am,  etc., 

(With  his  name  signed.) 


672  MOODY    AND    SA.NKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

We  are  told  by  a  great  many  skeptics  that  the  reason  they  do 
not  accept  Christ  is  because  it  is  against  their  reason.  But  God 
is  above  the  infidel's  reason.  They  say  it  is  against  nature. 
Let  them  turn  this  over  in  their  mind  that  God  is  above  nature. 
It  is  supernatural.  That  is  what  conversion  is.  I  don't  believe 
a  man  will  ever  see  the  Kingdom  of  God  that  is  not  converted  ; 
and  it  will  be  supernatural.  A  supernatural  conversion.  I 
know  that  a  man  will  never  see  God  in  His  Kingdom  unless  he 
is  supernaturally  converted — he  must  be  born  of  the  Spirit. 
Now  I  would  like  to  ask  every  infidel  here  to  do  what  one 
promised  to  do  at  the  inquiry  meeting,  yesterday  afternoon;  a 
minister  staid  here  and  labored  with  him  till  five  o'clock,  and 
while  trying  to  convince  that  man  four  or  five  others  standing 
near,  expressed  their  desire  to  lay  hold  on  Jesus. 

That  is  the  kind  of  workers  we  want.  I  would  just  like  to 
see  four  hundred  of  them  in  Boston  taking  hold  in  that  way,  and 
I  don't  believe  there  would  be  many  infidels  left.  The  minister 
worked  with  this  man  and  finally  he  said,  "  I  will  go  home  and 
call  on  the  God  of  the  Bible."  He  had  never  done  such  a  thing 
before,  but  he  said  he  would  go  to  him  now  and  try  to  pray  to 
the  God  of  the  Bible,  and  find  if  these  things  were  so.  That  is 
the  way  to  do  it — be  honest !  If  infidels  are  honest  to  God, 
God  will  be  honest  with  them.  Let  any  honest  man  come  hon- 
estly to  God  and  try  to  find  out  and  learn  something  from  Him 
and  God  will  teach  him,  but  a  good  many  people  try  to  teach 
God  something.  They  are  wise  in  their  own  conceit,  and  so 
they  do  not  find  anything  in  Scripture.  If  a  person  is  only 
willing  to  be  taught,  how  quickly  God  will  reveal  Himself  to 
them  !  We  must  be  ready  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and  then  we 
will  know  the  doctrine,  but  if  we  are  not  ready  to  obey  Him  we 
will  not  understand  it. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  meetings  was  made  so,  in  part, 
by  the  remarks  of  General  John  L.  Swift,  a  man  prominent  in 
the  war,  and  also  in  Massachusetts  politics.  He  has  long  been 
before  the  people  as  a  vigorous  and  able  speaker,  and  he  has 
gained,  by  his  social  qualities,  large  numbers  of  friends.  He 
has  recently  become  a  Christian,  and  testified  to  the  peace  he 


BOSTON    AT    THE    KliET    OF    JESUS.  673 

had  found  in  Christ.  Ghincing  at  his  past  life,  lie  said  it  had 
been  full  of  inconsistencies,  but,  from  the  experience  of  one 
week  as  a  Christian,  he  l)clicvcd  that  every  promise  of  God  to 
his  children  would  be  fulfilled.  He  exhorted  all  who  knew  him 
and  had  been  familiar  with  his  life,  to  embrace  the  invitations 
of  the  Gospel.  Many  others,  among  whom  are  converted 
skeptics  and  men  far  gone  in  sin,  spoke  of  their  newly-found 
hope. 

General  Swift  said  :  I  was  asked  by  a  clergyman  to  present 
to  this  meeting  as  a  subject  for  prayer  a  merchant  of  a  neigh- 
boring city,  and  to  request  you  to  remember  him  in  your  peti- 
tions. My  own  experience,  short  as  it  is,  remembering  that  I 
have  been  brought  to  where  I  am  upon  rivers  of  prayer  that 
have  been  offered  for  years  in  my  behalf,  makes  me  believe  that 
prayer  is  answered.  I  have  especial  fiiith  in  the  efficacy  of 
prayer,  and  believe  that  it  does  double  work,  strengthening  those 
who  offer  it  and  blessing  those  in  whose  behalf  it  is  offered.  So, 
friends,  I  ask  you  to  remember  this  merchant  in  a  sister  city. 
In  regard  to  the  thought  presented  by  the  leader  of  the  meeting, 
I  would  say  that  I  was  struck  with  what  my  pastor  recently 
said  in  regard  to  the  testimony  of  new  converts.  It  inspires  the 
old  Christians  anew,  and  gives  encouragement  to  those  who  are 
anxiously  seeking  the  way  to  eternal  life.  O,  that  God  would 
give  me  the  power  to  be  able  to  show  the  power  of  grace  to  create 
a  life  anew  !  I  would  urge  every  one  to  give  his  heart  to  God, 
and  He  will  give  it  back  full  of  love  to  Him  and  full  of  haired 
to  sin.  You  are  obliged  by  nature  to  give  up  your  life  to  some- 
thing— it  may  be  to  pleasure,  it  may  be  to  business,  it  may  be 
to  your  home.  There  must  be  a  supreme  something  around 
which  your  life  turns.  It  is  nature.  And  it  is  only  ransomed 
nature  that  obliges  you  to  give  up  your  life  to  your  Father. 
That  is  what  I  desire  to  do,  and  what  of  my  life  remains  I  most 
earnestly  desire  may  be  made  useful  in  advancing  the  Master's 
work. 

On  another  occasion  he  spoke  as  follows: 

It  was  said  last  Thursday  at  this  meeting  that  fluency  of 
speech  and  oratory  were  not  wanted  in  the  evidence  of  the  new 
39 


074  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

man  ;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  great  encouragement  to  me  that 
without  labored  argument  and  without  intensity  of  declamation 
I  am  able  to-night  to  tell  the  old  old  story  of  one  more  changed 
heart.  I  came  to  this  building  three  weeks  ago,  and  entirely 
without  expectation  on  my  part,  and  by  what  must  be  consid- 
ered, under  all  the  circumstances,  as  special  intervention.  Be- 
fore I  came  here  I  had  determined  in  my  mind  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian in  a  modest,  retiring  way.  I  wanted  to  have  a  religion  all 
to  myself.  The  Sabbath  labors  of  my  own  pastor,  who  may  be 
hearing  me  to-night,  and  that  of  other  Christians,  had  settled  in 
my  mind  beyond  a  cavil  or  a  doubt,  that  evangelical  truths  were 
founded  both  upon  the  rock  of  reason  and  upon  the  authority 
of  the  revelation.  The  teachings  of  every-day  life  had  convinced 
me  that  the  New  Testament  was  sound  when  it  said  that  theft 
and  covetousness,  and  wickedness  and  deceit  and  blasphemy 
and  pride — that  all  these  evils  come  from  within  and  defile  a 
man  ;  and  I  wanted,  if  this  was  so,  to  have  them  taken  out  of 
me,  so  that,  if  it  were  possible,  I  might  be  made  clean.  And  it 
was  in  this  condition  of  mind,  as  I  told  you,  that  I  came  into 
this  building  by  accident  the  first  Sunday  in  this  present  month, 
and  that  condition  was  well  enough  so  far  as  it  went,  but  I 
wanted  to  be  a  sort  of  disciple  in  domino.  I  wanted  to  be  a 
believer  in  repose.  I  wanted  to  have  this  religion  all  alone  to 
myself.  I  had  a  great  dislike  to  religious  terms,  I  didn't  like  to 
hear  the  expressions:  ''He  has  come  out ;  "  "  he  has  experi- 
enced religion  ;"  *'  he  is  converted."  But  I  took  my  seat  half 
way  down,  I  think  in  that  aisle.  (Pointing  to  one  of  the  centre 
aisles.)  From  my  experience,  it  is  the  most  uncomfortable  sit- 
uation in  this  whole  house  for  a  half-and-half  Christian  ;  but  I 
stand  here  to-night  an  unworthy  occupant  of  this  place,  because 
I  was  an  uneasy  occupant  of  that  seat.  I  have  already  told 
some  others  that  Mr.  Moody  seemed  to  know  that  I  was  here 
and  to  understand  my  case  precisely.  His  eye  seemed  to  range 
over  to  that  very  spot,  and  his  whole  artillery  seemed  to  bear 
upon  that  one  spot,  and  his  sermon  drove  the  cowardice  out  of 
my  head,  and  then  and  there  I  resolved  that  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity 1  would  carry  the  flag  and  wear  the  uniform  of  the  Master 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEET    OF   JESUS.  675 

I  propose  to  serve.  But  away  back  of  all  this,  is  the  superior 
fact  that  for  nine  and  forty  years  I  have  been  the  object  of  con- 
stant and  of  loving  prayers.  When  those  prayers  first  began  to 
affect  my  mind  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  tell.  John  Stuart  Mill 
says  to  debating  Christians,  "  Hold  on  to  the  argument  of  de- 
sign, if  you  wish  to  prove  the  existence  of  God.''  And  I  say 
here,  this  evening,  to  believing  Christians,  hold  on  to  God's  prom- 
ises concerning  prayer,  if  you  want  to  prove  His  oversight  and 
His  care  for  the  human  soul.  Ah,  it  is  in  answer  to  those 
prayers,  I  believe,  that  I  am  here  with  you.  There  is  senti- 
ment enough  about  prayer.  Men  will  melt  and  have  their 
hearts  touched  as  you  repeat  poetry  about  prayer.  But  it  is 
the  Bible,  and  in  it  this  truth,  as  imperishable  as  the  law  of  the 
ever-living  God, — that  prayer  is  heard  and  prayer  is  answered, 
for  He  has  said : 

''  And  all  things,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer,  believing, 
ye  shall  receive." 

I  never  left  my  mother,  to  my  recollection,  in  my  whole  life, 
for  any  length  of  time,  but  what  she  said  to  me  when  I  left  her : 
"  I  want  to  live  long  enough  to  see  you  give  your  heart  to  your 
Saviour."  It  was  the  conclusion  of  every  separation,  it  was  the 
burden  of  every  letter  she  ever  wrote  to  me  in  her  life.  I  remem- 
ber on  one  occasion,  and  there  are  those  here  who  can  recnll  the 
fact,  that  I  was  invited  by  my  fellow-citizens  to  deliver,  in  Tre- 
mont  Temple  an  address  upon  the  campaign  in  Mississippi  and 
the  surrender  of  Port  Hudson.  The  Mayor  of  the  city  presided. 
The  hall  was  crowded,  and  we  were  all  at  the  white  heat  of  patri- 
otism. I  was  endeavoring  to  picture  the  advance  and  occupation 
by  our  victorious  army  of  those  blood-stained  uplands.  The 
whole  scene  was  vividly  before  me,  and  when  I  came  to  the 
scene  where  that  command,  seven  thousand  of  our  then  foes, 
laid  down  their  guns  and  the  dear  old  flag  ran  up  the  pole, 
where  for  more  than  two  months  had  been  flaunting  in  our  eyes 
the  standard  of  rebellioji,  why,  the  whole  audience  went  wild, 
ihe  music  struck  up,  and  ihey  rose  upon  their  feet,  surging  and 
swaying  with  cheers.     As  I  stood  there  alone  amidst  that  wild 


6j6  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

burst  of  enthusiasm   I   looked  into  the  left  of  the  galleiy  and 
saw  one  pale,  unemotional  face. 

It  was  the  face  of  my  mother.  She  was  a  little  woman.  It 
seemed  as  though  I  could  lift  her  in  the  palm  of  my  hand,  but 
she  was  great  in  love  and  faith,  and  when  I  met  her  she  said, 
"  I  could  give  you  freely  to  my  country  ;  but,  O,  if  I  could  have 
seen  you  talk  for  your  Saviour,  I  would  ask  no  more  on  this 
earth."  There  is  a  passage  in  Scripture,  "  Except  ye  be  con- 
verted and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven."  I  know  what  that  means.  I  know 
what  it  is  to  feel  as  a  little  child,  though  my  hairs  are  grey  with 
the  footfalls  of  time.  Now,  I  wish  to  say  here,  and  impress  it 
upon  you,  that  at  that  meeting  in  1863,  there  was  no  man  in  the 
State  of  Massachusetts  so  little  likely  to  be  reconciled  to  his 
God,  it  appeared  to  me,  as  myself.  I  was  entirely  absorbed 
with  the  world.  I  was  careless  about  all  religious  influences, 
and  it  was  my  belief  that  it  would  all  come  out  right  in  the  end. 
But  last  Wednesday  I  stood  in  that  Temple,  and  as  I  rose  I 
looked  down  in  the  front  seat  and  there  was  my  old  father 
seventy-nine  years  of  age,  who  had  struggled  over  to  hear  his 
son  tell  of  the  glorious  tidings  of  this  Gospel.  It  almost  broke 
me  down,  but  I  went  on  as  well  as  I  could.  Those  who  are  in 
this  Christian  work  say  that  it  is  my  duty  to  stand  here.  I 
would  wish  myself  far  less  publicity  in  this  matter,  but  I  dare 
not  be  silent,  if  it  is  possible  that  I  may  reach  out  and  help 
save  some  man's  soul.  I  believe  the  great  work  is  only  begun 
in  this  city.  The  great  tidal  wave  is  yet  to  sweep  over  this 
place  of  our  affection,  and  I  wish  to  do  something.  I  will  do 
something  that  this  city,  on  these  three  hills — this  city  that 
cradled  Liberty,  and  that  has  led  the  van  of  progress — should 
believe  and  shine  as  the  city  of  the  redeemed.  I  implore  you 
who  listen  to  me  to-night,  to  come  to  your  Father's  house. 
Your  own  childrt^-n,  by  their  while  souls  yet  unstained  with  sin, 
stretch  out  their  little  hands  to  you  and  implore  you  to  come 
and  help  them  ;  and  could  we  hush  to  night  this  vast  assembly, 
we  could  almost  catch  the  strains  of  those  who  have  gone  be- 
yond, who  are  chanting  "  The  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say  come." 


BOS  ION  AT  THK  KEEl  OK  JUSUS.  677 

Come,  brother,  trust  to  the  God  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  and 
Jacob ;  trust  Him  all  thy  journey  through.  Trust  Him  until 
your  feet  shall  be  planted  on  the  crystal  seas. 

This  eloquent  address  marks  one  extreme  of  the  social  scale 
reached  by  the  power  of  God.  The  other  extreme  is  shown  to 
be  equally  accessible  by  His  grace,  where  there  is  faith  accom- 
panied   by  the  labor  of  love. 

Baptist  ladies  living  near  the  jail  in  East  Cambridge,  took 
upon  themselves  the  task  of  visiting  the  inmates  of  that  prison 
and  reading  the  Bible  to  them.  They  were  repaid  for  their 
efforts  in  a  way  which,  with  all  their  faith,  they  could  hardly 
have  anticipated.  They  found  an  Irish  Catholic  woman,  whose 
history,  if  known  to  them  at  the  time,  would  perhaps  have 
deterred  them  from  making  an  effort  to  save  her. 

She  has  lived  for  ten  years  in  a  town  not  far  from  Boston, 
and  during  the  whole  time  has  been  a  defiant,  profane  and  suc- 
cessful liquor-seller.  She  was  capable  in  her  business,  and, 
though  arrested  and  sent  out  of  the  town  time  after  time,  she 
swore  each  time  that  she  would  live  there  and  sell  rum,  which  she 
did,  and  grew  rich  thereby,  till  she  owned  several  houses,  and 
was  known  by  the  people  and  feared  as  a  public  enemy.  The 
character  of  the  house  she  kept  had  led  more  than  once  to  her 
imprisonment,  but  the  execution  of  the  law  only  made  her  vin- 
dictive ;  and  when  the  ladies  called  upon  her  she  received  them 
with  contempt  and  abuse,  telling  them  that  her  religion  was 
better  than  theirs,  and  that  she  wanted  none  of  their  prayers. 
They  quietly  proceeded  to  read  and  pray  with  her,  and  were 
dismissed  with  her  maledictions.  After  they  had  gone  she 
began  to  ask  herself  what  their  motive  probably  was,  and  the 
more  she  pressed  the  question  the  more  troubled  she  became. 
Her  conscience  began  to  work  ;  a  great  struggle  followed  ;  and 
after  a  few  days,  she  became  a  humble  Christian.  Released 
from  jail  soon  after,  she  went  back  to  the  town  where  she  lived, 
and  immediately  made  a  stir  among  her  Irish  friends.  She 
cleared  out  her  rum-shop,  poured  out  the  liquor  she  had  con- 
cealed from  the  police,  and  gave  all  to  understand  that  she  was 
no  longer  the  woman  that  she  had  been.     She  left  her  church, 


678  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

whereat  the  priest  became  angry,  and  ordered  all  her  tenants 
to  leave  her  houses,  which  some  of  them  did.  Her  hifsband 
took  the  youngest  child  and  left  her,  and  some  of  the  more  big- 
oted of  her  neighbors  threatened  her;  but  thinking  that,  jf  she 
was  influential  while  she  was  a  rumseller,  she  ought  to  be  now 
that  she  had  become  a  Christian,  she  carried  the  war  into  the 
enemy's  country,  and  commenced  preaching  Christ  and  him 
crucified.  That  the  result  will  be  good,  and  good  only,  no  one 
can  doubt ;  and  it  may  turn  out  at  last  that  the  ladies  who 
visited  that  prison  never  performed  a  greater  service  for  Christ 
than  when  reading  the  Bible  and  praying  with  that  angry  and 
cursing  woman. 

Again  :  An  auditor  whose  face  was  deeply  furrowed  with  the 
ravages  of  dissipation,  rose  and  said  he  had  struggled  for  weeks 
against  a  terrible  appetite,  but  the  Lord  had  carried  him 
through  and  now  there  wasn't  a  happier  man  in  Boston. 

Mr.  Moody — Tell  them  how  you  went  to  the  office  and  came 
back. 

The  Convert — When  I  arose  for  prayers  I  could  hear  my 
heart  thump  against  my  ribs ;  but  instead  of  going  into  the 
inquiry  meeting  I  went  to  my  office,  but  I  came  back  and  went 
straight  into  the  inquiry  room,  although  I  didn't  know  where  it 
was  and  hadn't  been  to  that  part  of  the  building  before. 

Mr.  Moody — I  think  you  had  better  tell  them  what  bound 
you,  because  it  may  set  some  poor  captive  free. 

The  Convert — It  was  opium.  It  is  the  hardest  habit  in  the 
world  for  a  man  to  break  off.  I  had  a  loving  wife,  lovely 
children,  a  kind  father  and  mother,  but  no  power  on  earth  could 
save  me — nothing  but  the  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If 
any  one  is  bound  by  his  appetite  let  him  come  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  He  will  cure  him.     The  way  is  simple  enough. 

The  next  week  he  related  a  trying  experience  as  follows : 
On  Friday,  after  being  at  the  Tabernacle,  the  providence  of 
God  led  me  with  my  dear  wife  into  the  office  of  a  professional 
man  of  this  city  to  whom  I  was  under  some  great  obligations. 
I  was  tired  and  nervous  with  the  reaction  of  leaving  off  opium. 
I  had  seen  him  two  or  three  times  since  my  conversion,  but  I 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEKT   OF   JESUS.  679 

had  not  told  him  of  it,  and  now  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  do  it.  In 
the  state  I  was  in  I  presume  I  spoke  in  an  e.xcitcd  manner.  He 
sat  down,  and  in  cool  calculating  language  tried  with  the  knife 
of  science  to  cut  from  under  me  my  hope  in  Christ.  He  spoke 
to  me  physiologically,  psychologically,  and  quoted  from  reports, 
it  seemed  as  though  he  was  determined  to  cut  that  light  off  from 
me,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  brilliant  light  were  being  dimmed. 
He  turned  it  down,  down,  down,  till  there  was  nothing  but  a 
little  blue  glimmer  left  for  mq.  As  I  went  out  my  dear  wife 
was  in  tears.  She  said,  "  Don't  let  that  affect  you."  She  knew 
well  what  I  had  been  rescued  from,  and  that  my  salvation  was 
in  Jesus  Christ.  She  is  not  a  Christian,  but  she  is  seeking  to 
become  one.  She  said,  "  I  wish  you  could  see  Brother  Moody 
or  Brother  Sawyer."  I  told  Mr.  Moody  last  night  that  he  has 
a  magnetic  attraction  for  me  ;  he  draws  me  into  the  front  seats 
now,  whereas  I  used  to  hide  away  in  the  back  ones.  But  that 
was  not  what  I  wanted  to  do.  I  wanted  to  go  straight  to  Christ 
with  this.  Right  behind  that  blue  glimmer  was  the  cross  of 
Christ.  I  knew  I  had  to  cling  to  that,  and  I  said,  "  Let  us  go 
right  home,  let  us  not  wait  for  dinner  or  anything  else  ;  I  want 
to  be  by  myself  in  some  room."  My  wife  asked  me  what  for, 
and  I  said,  "To  pray."  "It  seems  strange  to  hear  you  say 
that,"  she  said.  I  knelt  down  in  the  room  and  it  seemed  as  if 
I  could  think  of  nothing  but  to  pray  that  light  back. 

1  prayed  and  prayed  and  prayed,  and  I  felt  some  better  when 
I  got  up.  I  knew  that  I  was  right.  We  went  out  into  the  other 
room,  and  I  took  my  three-year-old  daughter  on  my  knee,  and 
began  to  sing  to  her : 

"  What  a  friend  we  have  in  Jesus 
All  our  sins  and  griefs  10  bear, 
What  a  privilege  to  carry 

Everything  to  God  in  prayer." 

Then  that  other  hymn,  "Trust  in  Jesus,  that  is  All."  As  I 
sung  then  I  got  my  hand  on  that  shut-off  and  turned  that  light 
on  to  the  full  blaze,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  has  blessed  me  ever 
since.     This  man  told  me  to  use  my  reason,  use  my  will,  stand 


68o  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

in  my  own  strength.  Doesn't  my  reason  tell  me  that  my  own 
strength  is  the  veriest  weakness  ?  Doesn't  my  reason  tell  me 
not  to  trust  it,  because  it  has  failed  me  every  time  ?  It  seems 
as  though  I  were  converted  over  again,  the  first  time  through 
the  soul  and  impulses,  and  the  next  time  through  the  brain  and 
intellect.  I  am  doubly  converted,  and  now  let  the  winds,  and 
rains,  and  floods  of  unbelief,  and  skepticism,  and  science  beat 
against  that  house,  but  it  cannot  fall,  for  I  have  built  it  upon 
a  rock,  the  rock  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  and  will  stand  forever 
and  ever  and  ever.  Mr.  Moody  came  forward  and  said  :  In  the 
post  this  morning  was  this  letter : 

March  22,  1877. 
Mr.  Moody: 

Dear  Sir :  Some  twenty-five  years  ago  there  was  a  rumseller 
in  Boston  who  seemed  to  be  remarkably  successful  in  his  busi- 
ness. I  think  he  owned  several  places  in  the  city  and  a  hotel  at 
Chelsea  Beach  ;  a  fine  looking  young  man,  and  the  envy  of  a 
great  many  thoughtless  young  men,  myself  among  the  number. 
His  acquaintance  was  sought  by  many ;  in  fact,  he  seemed  to 
"flourish  like  a  green  bay  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water," 
but  he  gradually  went  down.  I  knew  him  by  sight  and  could 
see  him  as  the  years  went  by,  till  he  got  to  be  what  the  rumseller 
calls  a  "bar-room  loafer,"  I  think  it  is  about  two  years  ago  I 
read  in  the  daily  papers  of  a  poor,  miserable  creature  being 
picked  up  in  the  street.  I  think  that  he  was  ragged  and  covered 
with  vermin,  giving  his  name,  which  was  the  former  rumseller. 
Since  I  have  not  heard  anything  from  him.  This  past  week  at 
the  Tabernacle  prayer-meeting  Mr.  Sawyer  called  on  this  man 
to  speak,  and  then  I  saw  the  same  man  clothed  and  in  his  right 
mind.  I  didn't  catch  the  words  that  he  uttered,  but  his  manner 
showed  there  had  been  a  remarkable  change.  We  hear  people 
speak  in  a  sneering  way  sometimes  of  your  stories,  but  I  never 
heard  you  tell  any  more  wonderful  story  than  the  above. 
(Signed)  "  A  Business  Man  in  the  City.' 

Now,  said  Mr.  Moody,  when  he  finished  reading  this  letter,  I 
want  this  man  just  to  speak  and  tell  what  great  things  the  Lord 


husroN  Ai    iHK  feet  of  jpr.us.  68i 

has  clone  for  him.  'J'hcrcupon  a  middlc-nj^rd  man  advanced  to 
the  front,  and  said  he  was  the  representative  of  the  letter  Mr. 
Moody  had  just  read.  lie  had  been  just  what  the  letter  had 
described,  but  through  the  grace  of  God  had  been  saved.  He 
urged  those  before  him  to  follow  his  example,  and  then  they  will 
be  men. 

Speaking  of  the  scoffing  of  the  carpenters  at  Noah,  the 
preacher  in  his  evening  sermon  said  :  *'  Men  are  talking  a  good 
deal  about  this  building  now.  They  laugh  at  the  meetings  here. 
Well,  I  don't  care  if  they  never  step  into  the  building  if  they 
are  only  converted  somewhere.  A  young  man  told  me  he  was 
mad  when  he  saw  this  building  going  up,  for  he  was  afraid  he 
was  going  to  get  converted,  and  he  wished  the  building  would 
burn  down.  But,  by-and-by  1  met  that  young  man  in  the  in- 
quiry-room and  he  said  to  me,  '  At  last  I  was  converted,  and 
now  I  am  glad  that  it  has  been  put  up.'  ' 

Several  instances  are  known  of  people  having  come  hundreds 
of  miles  to  spend  a  day  at  the  revival  meetings.  One  such 
brought  his  son,  and,  according  to  his  faith,  saw  the  young  man 
converted.  A  resident  Christian  sent  for  his  brother,  who  made 
the  journey,  was  taken  to  the  meeting  and  inquiry  room,  where 
at  a  late  hour  of  the  night,  after  much  praying  and  weeping 
together,  yielded  his  will,  obtaining  peace  and  joy  in  Christ,  and 
the  two  became  brethren  by  a  new  and  dearer  tie.  A  mother 
in  Scotland,  who  had  become  acquainted  with  Mr.  Moody  there 
two  years  ago,  lately  wrote  him  to  beg  that  he  should  search 
out  her  son  in  Boston  and  try  for  his  conversion,  for  which  she 
had  long  and  earnestly  been  praying.  The  young  man  was 
sought  and  found — found  in  the  beauliful,  Scriptural  .sense  of 
the  word,  as  the  straying  sheep  in  the  parable  was  found  by  the 
loving  shepherd.  His  wife,  likewise,  has  entered  the  fold. 
"And,"'  says  Mr.  Moody,  for  the  special  encouragement  of 
parents,  "  the  young  man  was  particular  to  tell  me  it  was  not 
through  my  influence,  but  through  his  mother's  prayers,  that  he 
had  received  salvation." 

A  young  man — a  clerk  in  a  store,  and  a  member  of  a  church 
' — was   missed  from   his  usual    place  in   meeting.      His   pastor 

.9* 


682  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

asked  the  reason  of  his  absence,  and  he  replied  that  he  was  in 
trouble,  and  he  went  on  to  say  that  it  was  the  custom,  in  the 
house  where  he  was,  if  an  order  for  goods  was  countermanded, 
to  make  out  an  invoice  dated  back  a  day  or  two,  and  write  that 
the  goods  had  been  already  sent,  and  ship  them  at  once.  That 
day  he  had  been  obliged  to  make  out  such  an  invoice — what 
should  he  do  ?  His  pastor  told  him  that  he  must  follow  his 
conscience.  '"But,"  said  he,  "  I  have  been  in  my  place  three 
years.  I  cannot  afford  to  lose  it."  '^  Yet,"  was  the  reply,  "  you 
must  do  right,  lose  your  place  or  not."  "I  will,"  said  he, 
**  but  perhaps  there  will  be  no  case  of  that  sort  again."  That 
very  day  the  same  task  was  again  laid  upon  him.  He  thought 
about  it,  stepped  to  the  door  of  the  inner  office,  and  told  his 
employer  that  he  could  not  make  out  that  invoice.  The  mer- 
chant gave  a  long,  low  whistle,  and  said  to  himself,  "  Moody 
and  Sankey  again."  But  the  young  man  neither  made  out  the 
invoice  nor  lost  his  place.  If  all  men  who  are  expected  to  lend 
countenance  to  dishonesty  would  preach  against  it  a  practical 
sermon  of  that  sort,  there  would  be  less  of  it. 

Mr.  Moody  said  those  who  were  shut  out  before  would  now 
have  an  opportunity  to  make  their  thank-offerings.  He  con- 
tinued :  Last  evening  after  I  returned  from  the  country,  three  lit- 
tle children  came  to  the  house  and  left  three  notes.  After  they 
went  1  opened  them.     One  said  : 

*'  I  thank  God  that  you  came  to  Boston,  and  so  many  have 
been  converted  and  that  I  am  one  of  that  number.  I  have  been 
trying  to  win  souls  to  Christ.  I  want  you  very  much  to  stay 
longer,  that  some  who  have  not  been  converted  may  be.  Please 
accept  the  bill  enclosed  as  a  thank-offering  to  the  Lord.  Yours 
truly."  [Name  signed.] 

There  were  $50  in  that  note.  The  other  one,  from  a  little 
girl  nine  years  old,  contained  $50  and  so  did  the  other.  So 
there  are  $150  as  thank-offerings,  and  may  the  Lord  bless  that 
money  to  His  use. 

Mr.  Moody  then   said  :   "  Now  I  would  like  to  have  it  very, 


BOSTON    AI'   THK    FEET    OK    JESUS.  683 

very  still.  I  am  going  to  ask  some  men  to  speak  who  have 
been  converted  as  we  believe  in  answer  to  our  prayers.  It  is 
the  first  time  we  have  called  on  any  reclaimed  in  these  meet- 
ings to  speak.  The  men  are  not  in  the  habit  of  speaking  jto 
such  a  large  assembly  as  this,  but  if  the  congregation  are  in 
sympathy  with  them  it  is  easy  for  them  to  speak.  Let  us  pray 
for  them  while  these  men  are  trying  to  tell  what  great  things 
the  Lord  has  done  for  them.  I  am  going  to  ask  Mr.  McDonald 
to  tell  what  the  Lord  has  done  for  him."  Mr.  McDonald  said: 
"  My  friends,  1  have  no  feeling  but  pleasure  as  I  stand  here 
after  thirty  years  of  sin  and  sorrow.  On  the  second  Tuesday 
in  July,  1845,  when  I  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  I  handed  in  my 
articles  as  attorney-at-law  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Nova  Sco- 
tia. I  had  a  praying  mother,  and  I  was  the  pride  of  her  life. 
There  were  two  other  children.  One  was  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  other  a  lawyer.  After  being  there  some  little 
time  I  made  new  associations.  My  first  glass  of  wine  was  drank 
in  the  society  of  a  Christian  lady.  By  and  by  friends  met  me 
and  said,  'Joe,  come  into  the  hotel  and  have  a  glass  of  wine.' 
1  went  in  only  to  take  a  glass  of  wine.  Suppers  followed,  and 
then  the  gambling  table,  and  fifteen  months  after  I  entered  the 
law,  I  was  turned  out  of  my  office  in  disgrace,  and  my  name 
was  in  the  records  for  drunkenness  and  immoral  conduct.  My 
mother  was  stricken  down  by  my  behavior,  and  almost  dead. 
Her  hair  turned  white,  and  my  father  turned  rqe  out  of  doors. 
My  sisters  and  brothers  forsook  me,  and  the  children  took  a 
different  side  of  the  street  when  they  saw  me.  But  on  her  dying 
bed  my  mother  said,  *Tell  Joe  that  I  love  him  and  that  if  all 
his  friends  forsake  him  Jesus  Christ  will  not  forsake  him.'  I 
then  left  Nova  Scotia  and  went  to  Maine  ;  friends  set  me  up  in 
business  ;  I  joined  temperance  societies  and  tried  to  live  a  better 
life,  but  my  thirst  for  liquor  came  on  me  again,  and  I  fell.  I 
had  no  other  resource  left  but  to  go  to  sea.  I  shipped  as  cook 
and  soon  learned  the  business,  then  got  appointed  mate  and  went 
to  Europe  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Crimean  war.  In  the  lonely 
watches  of  the  night  I  thought  of  my  mother  on  her  dying  bed, 
and  then  I  would  go  on  my  knees  and  say  if  I  only  got  on  shore 


684  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

safe    I    would  be   another   man.     But   when   I   got  on   shore 
temptation  came  and  I  could  not  withstand  it. 

*'  Twelve  years  ago  I  got  married  and  joined  the  Good  Temp- 
lars and  thought  I  would  lead  a  better  life.  I  kept  pretty  steady 
for  five  years  and  was  captain  of  a  vessel ;  then  I  got  to  drinking 
again  and  became  a  common  drunkard.  My  wife  and  children 
left  me.  Then  I  resolved  I  would  drink  no  more.  But  I  trusted 
in  my  own  strength  and  fell.  For  the  last  seven  years  I  have 
been  working  in  Cambridge,  earning  good  wages,  but  an  unre- 
liable man  and  a  degraded  drunkard.  I  used  to  earn  twenty- 
five  dollars  a  week  and  give  five  of  it  to  my  wife  and  spend  six- 
teen in  a  rum  shop.  Then  I  became  a  day  laborer.  I  got  a 
dollar  and  a  half  a  day,  working  on  the  streets,  and  spent  it  all 
for  rum.  I  came  here  five  weeks  ago  to  the  Tabernacle.  I 
had  heard  Mr.  Spurgeon  in  London  and  I  wanted  to  see  w^hich 
I  liked  the  best,  Mr.  Spurgeon  or  Mr.  Moody.  I  heard  Mr. 
Sankey  singing  a  hymn,  and  if  I  could  transfer  my  feelings  on 
hearing  that  hymn  to  any  drunkard  here  he  would  never  touch 
rum  again.  1  went  away,  and  came  back  again  the  next  day, 
and  the  next,  and  the  next.  At  last  I  went  into  the  Berkeley 
Street  church,  and  there,  through  the  blood  of  the  precious  Son 
of  God,  1  found  my  cure  and  was  saved.  I  went  home  that 
night  with  a  strong  determination  to  trust  in  Christ,  and  I  went 
on  my  knees  to  God  before  my  family.  The  next  morning  I 
told  my  children  I  was  going  to  read  the  Bible  for  the  first  time 
in  my  life,  and  I  read  God's  promise  and  then  I  prayed  on  my 
knees  that  God  would  give  me  strength,  and  the  third  morning 
one  of  my  little  girls  said  while  I  was  reading  to  her  mother, 
"  Mother,  this  is  better  than  papa  coming  home  drunk,  ain't  it  ?  " 
That  touched  me.  Now  my  wife  goes  on  her  knees  with  me, 
and  thanks  be  to  God,  we  are  a  happy  family.  Now,  if  there  is 
a  drunkard  here,  no  matter  how  small  or  big,  let  him  come -to 
God.  He  can  take  that  impure  record  of  his  away,  and  give 
him  a  new  one.  Now,  I  defy  Satan  and  all  his  crew  in  (iods 
name.  I  never  touch  any  liquor  now.  Mr.  Moody  then  said, 
now  if  Mr.  Sankey  will  sing  that  hymn,  perhaps  he  can  get 
anothei  soul.     Let  us  pray  that  God  will  touch  many  hearts  here 


BOSTON    AT   THK    FEET   OF    JESUS.  68$ 

to-day.  Mr.  Sankey  then  sung  "  Watching  and  Waiting,"  with 
more  than  his  usual  amount  of  feeling  and  expression,  and  at  its 
close  otTcred  earnest  prayer. 

Mr.  Anderson  of  Philadelphia  said  :  My  dear  friends — I 
don't  tell  my  story  to  glory  in  it,  but  I  tell  it  to  glory  in  the 
power  which  Jesus  has  to  save.  I  was  brought  up  by  kind 
Christian  parents  ;  they  taught  ine  ihe  way  I  should  go,  but 
when  I  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  in  a  very  large  mercantile 
establishment  in  Philadelphia,  where  there  were  some  twenty- 
one  to  thirty  young  men,  they  tried  to  persuade  me  to  drink  ; 
they  could  not  do  it  by  persuasion,  so  they  did  it  by  ridicule. 
I  could  not  stand  the  ridicule,  so  I  fell  into  the  snare  the  tempter 
had  set  before  me,  and  for  eleven  years  I  was  a  respectable 
drinker,  a  moderate  drinker.  At  the  end  of  these  eleven  years 
I  saw  where  it  was  leading  me  to  and  I  joined  in  the  temperance 
cause. 

For  three  years  I  was  in  the  temperance  cause,  but  I  never  felt 
any  security  in  me  ;  I  was  always  trembling  for  fear  I  would  fall, 
and  I  did  fall.  1  was  blown  up  in  a  boiler  explosion,  and  it  was 
presented  to  me  as  a  medicine,  and  right  here  1  want  to  say  there 
is  no  earthly  use  in  it  as  a  medicine,  but  it  led  me  down  ;  I  went 
down  faster  during  the  short  time  since  taking  it  the  second  time 
than  I  did  during  the  whole  eleven  years.  I  slipped  down  so 
fast  that  I  didn't  know  where  I  was  until  about  a  year  afterward. 
I  found  myself  so  besotted,  running  through  the  streets  of 
Philadelphia,  that  when  I  earned  money  I  could  not  take  a  cent 
of  it  home  "for  my  family.  My  desire  to  do  so  was  good  enough, 
but  the  devil  had  such  a  power  over  me  that  it  was  an  impossi- 
bility for  me  to  do  it,  and  so  I  wandered  for  these  long  years. 
It  kept  increasing  on  me  so  that  I  had  to  take  more  and  more 
every  day  almost,  and  while  I  was  wandering  along,  both  under 
the  mfluence  of  liquor  and  sober,  there  was  always  a  voice 
whispering  within  my  soul  solemnly,  around  about  me  and  in 
my  ears,  that  oftentimes  in  the  street  I  would  turn  around  to  see 
if  it  was  some  one  asking  me,  and  this  was  what  it  said,  "Turn 
ye,  turn  ye  ;  why  will  ye  die?"  It  followed  me  e^•erywhere. 
I  tried  to  drown  it ;  I  tried  to  get  rid  of  it ;  my  old  parents,  a 


686  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

father  who  is  now  eighty-four  years  of  age  and  a  mother  well 
up  toward  eighty  years,  were  praying  for  me  earnestly,  and  I 
knew  I  was  breaking  their  hearts  ;  I  knew  I  was  breaking  the 
hearts  of  my  wife  and  children,  but  I  could  not  stop  it.  I  tried 
everything.  I  signed  the  pledges  ;  I  took  all  those  recipes 
that  were  going  around  for  to  substitute  them  for  the  rum  ; 
they  were  of  no  avail  for  me.  I  went  to  magistrates  and  took 
oaths,  and  thought  the  great  respect  and  regard  I  had  for  them 
would  give  me  a  power  to  overcome  this.  I  tried  in  every  way  ; 
I  went  to  Christian  friends  and  asked  them  wasn't  there  some 
help  for  me  :  they  told  me  no,  only  to  sign  the  pledge.  I  have 
no  faith  in  the  pledge.  My  experience  has  taught  me  that,  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  pledge  ;  I  tried  them  and  kept  on  that 
way.  Well,  last  Thanksgiving  Day,  a  year  ago,  when  Mr. 
Moody  was  in  Philadelphia,  on  that  morning  I  started  out 
I  made  up  my  mind  and  told  my  wife  I  would  not  touch  a  drop 
of  liquor  under  no  consideration  whatever,  that  I  would  come 
home  at  noon  sober,  so  that  I  could  take  her  and  the  children 
out.  I  didn't  go  the  route  I  first  intended,  but  before  I  knew 
where  I  was  I  was  drinking,  and  I  got  intoxicated  before  twelve 
o'clock.  I  went  home  in  that  condition,  I  had  a  mouthful  of 
dinner,  laid  myself  down  on  the  lounge  for  three  hours,  got  up 
and  started  out  again  to  see  a  relative  ;  I  talked  with  him  for 
two  or  three  hours  and  started  to  go  to  my  home,  but  I  was 
turned  in  another  direction,  I  was  turned  up  towards  the  centre 
of  the  city.  I  didn't  know  what  turned  me  at  that  time  ;  didn't 
know  what  I  was  going  up  town  for,  and  the  first  thing  I  knew 
I  was  drinking  again.  I  got  into  a  saloon  down  at  Seventh  and 
Arch  streets,  in  Philadelphia,  and  met  a  couple  of  friends  there 
and  took  three  drinks  with  them  inside  of  fifteen  minutes 
at  least,  making  about  nine  drinks  I  had  in  that  hour  and 
a  half. 

I  started  from  there  to  go  home,  and  when  I  was  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  away  from  where  the  meetings  were  being  held, 
a  voice  whispered  within  me,  "Go  out  to  the  Moody  meeting." 
I  said  it  was  no  use  of  going  there,  for  they  would  be  coming 
out;  it  was  nine  o'clock  at  that  time.     I  walked  to  the  street 


BOSTON  AT  THF,  FFF.T  OF  JESUS.  687 

where  I  should  have  turned  down  home.  When  I  got  to  the 
corner  a  voice  told  me  to  go  out  to  the  young  men's  meeting. 
I  went  to  go  home,  but  I  was  unable  to  do  so.  I  got  to  ihe 
corner  of  the  street  where  I  ought  to  turn  off  to  my  home,  and 
there  I  had  another  struggle,  but  thanks  be  to  God,  his  power 
is  the  mightiest,  and  led  me  to  the  young  men's  meeting.  The 
meeting  was  filled,  and  I  was  standing  in  a  crowd  in  the  centre. 
The  chairman  of  the  meeting  asked  was  there  any  soul  that 
desired  to  be  saved,  would  they  rise?  I  heard  then  the  voice 
telling  me  it  was  my  last  call.  It  was  my  last  chance,  and 
drunk  and  all  as  I  was  I  went  to  the  front.  Two  parties  came 
and  sat  down  on  each  side  of  me.  They  were  praying  all  the 
time  for  some  men  that  had  risen.  They  got  hold  of  me  and 
got  talking  to  me.  The  leader  got  up  and  asked  again  for  any 
one  who  desired  to  be  saved  to  rise.  I  attempted  to  rise,  but 
these  two  men  pulled  me  down,  and  when  he  got  up  and  ex- 
tended the  invitation  again,  they  pulled  me  down  again.  I  felt 
that  if  I  did  not  get  up  I  would  not  receive  the  blessing,  and  so 
I  did  get  up  when  they  were  off  their  guard.  I  again  asked  the 
Lord  God  to  remove  the  cursed  appetite  for  drink.  I  had  been 
praying  to  Him  from  selfish  motives  only  to  take  the  appetite 
for  drink  away  from  me.  but  not  that  he  would  pardon  me  of 
my  sins,  and  now  I  wanted  to  give  myself,  body,  soul,  appetite 
and  all,  to  Him,  that  he  might  receive  me.  So  after  the  meet- 
ing was  over  they  got  around  me,  a  number  of  the  ministers  and 
workers.  It  was  after  ten  o'clock,  and  they  said  it  would  be 
best  for  me  to  go  home,  and  if  I  would  pledge  myself  to  pray 
for  one  hour,  they  would  pray  each  and  every  one  in  his  own 
home  for  me.  But,  thank  God,  there  was  a  brother  there,  one 
who  spoke  to  you  a  few  short  weeks  ago  and  told  my  story,  and 
he  said :  *'  You  know  not  what  you  are  doing  ;  I  have  been 
there  ;  strike  the  iron  while  it  is  hot."  He  asked  me  if  I  would 
get  down  there  and  pray,  and  1  did  so  with  them.  While  they 
were  praying  I  cried  unto  the  Lord.  He  heard  and  answered 
me,  and  sobered  me  up  before  I  got  off  my  knees.  Thanks  be 
to  God,  he  took  the  appetite  away  then.  I  expected  that  the 
next  morning  I  would    be  laid  on    a  bed  of  sickness  from   this 


688  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

continued  course  of  drink,  for  you  might  say  I  was  drinking 
every  day  for  three  long  years.  I  was  so  much  under  the  power 
of  it.  that  three  or  four  days  of  the  week  I  would  have  to  drink 
from  thirty  to  forty  drinks  of  whiskey.  So  you  may  imagine 
how  low  I  got.  But  thanks  be  to  God,  no  man  can  get  so  low 
but  what  Jesus  can  reach  him.  He  has  taken  that  appetite 
away  from  me.  I  know  it  as  surely  as  I  know  that  I  am  stand- 
ing here.  Old  things  have  passed  away,  and  all  things  have 
become  as  new.  My  dear  friends,  I  have  never  been  bothered 
about  my  appetite  since.  As  often  as  I  have  addressed  the 
Lord  He  has  helped  me  out  of  my  trials  and  troubles.  He  has 
fed  me  and  clothed  me,  and  kept  me  and  my  family  when  I  did 
not  have  a  cent.  I  have  gone  from  my  home  and  left  my 
family  in  the  hands  of  Jesus,  and  He  has  kept  them.  I  can 
point  out  eighty  men  that  were  as  low  as  I  was — some  of  them 
lower.  Oh,  may  God  bless  you  here  this  morning.  Give  your- 
selves to  Him  and  he  will  remove  your  appetites  from  you  as 
He  has  mine  from  me.  The  congregation  then  rose  and  sang 
"  I  Need  Thee  Every  Hour." 

The  place  of  the  pledge  in  temperance  work  is  being  pretty 
clearly  defined.  None  of  the  most  successful  reformers  place 
much  dependence  upon  it  now-a-days.  Even  Mr.  Moody  snaps 
his  finger  and  says,  "  I  wouldn't  give  that  for  the  pledge  with- 
out the  grace  of  God  in  the  heart."  And  Mr.  Sawyer  agrees 
with  him.  So,  in  a  measure,  does  Mr.  Murphy,  who  has  well 
nigh  left  the  liquor-sellers  in  some  of  the  western  states  with  no- 
body to  buy  their  liquors.  The  pledge  is  but  an  instrument. 
There  is  no  virtue  in  it  to  keep  a  man,  only  so  far  as  he  has  the 
spirit  of  truthfulness  in  him.  And  it  must  be  confessed  that  in- 
temperate men  as  a  class  greatly  need  something  to  stiffen  this 
sentiment  in  them.  Nothing  will  do  that  like  the  gospel.  Men 
should  of  course  be  bound  to  a  wholesome  life  by  all  proper  bonds, 
aiul  so  the  pledge  should  never  be  withheld  or  spoken  lightly  of. 
At  the  same  time  "  the  grace  of  God  in  the  heart  "  is  the  main 
thinir. 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FKET    OF    JESUS.  689 

Temperance  Day. 

We  have  preserved  the  amazing  testimonies  of  men  rcclcemed 
from  tUe  accursed  sway  of  appetite,  and  only  give  brief  notices 
of  the  last  Friday  at  the  meetings,  which  was  distinguished  l)y 
the  speeches  of  men  eminent  in  the  work  of  reclaiming  inebri- 
ates.   These  statements  are  from  men  prominent  in  the  church : 

The  Christian  Temperance  Convention  was  a  noteworthy 
occasion.  Mr.  Moody  has  pronounced  it  in  many  respects  "  the 
most  extraordinary  day  of  his  life."  Altogether,  the  temperance 
phase  of  the  revival  in  Boston  is  regarded  by  him  as  mightier 
and  more  wonderful  than  he  has  seen  it  anywhere  else.  The 
numbers  reached,  the  depths  of  degradation  from  which  they 
have  been  rescued,  the  satisfactory  type  of  character  of  the  con- 
verts, and  the  many  efficient  workers  evolved  from  among  them, 
render  it  one  of  the  most  memorable  triumphs  in  the  historv  of 
Christianity,  and  completely  fulfil  those '*  greater  works  "  which 
Jesus  said  should  be  done  by  His  disciples. 

A  more  noteworthy  gathering  than  this  has  not  been  iiold  in 
New  England  for  many  a  day.  It  stands  as  a  proof  of  the  com- 
prehensive and  profoundly  stirring  work  being  accomplished 
under  the  lead  of  Mr.  Moody.  Significant  it  was,  too,  to  find  this 
a  Gospel  Temperance  Convention,  in  which,  by  those  who  spoke 
and  those  who  gave  in  their  testimony,  only  the  grace  of  Christ 
was  named  as  the  cure  for  intemperate  habits.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  storm,  an  immense  audience  filling  the  Tabernacle  was 
present,  so  that  in  the  afternoon  and  evening  there  was  not  room 
for  those  seeking  entrance.  The  testimonies  from  those  who 
had  been  saved  was  thrilling,  and  attested,  beyond  all  doubt, 
how  even  to  the  uttermost  those  who  come  to  Christ  can  be 
redeemed.  Now  and  then,  as  some  pathetic  bit  of  experience 
was  given  by  these  men,  the  audience  was  moved  to  tears.  It 
was  evident  that  even  "  gutter  drunkards,"  as  we  term  them, 
have  down  in  their  heart  of  hearts  a  something  that  responds 
to  \\ords  of  hope  and  the  profilers  of  help  the  Gospel  of  the  S  )n 
of  God  makes  to  them.  And  as  one  looked  down  from  the 
platform  on  some  two  hundred  men,  led  into  the  Tabernacle  by 


690  MOODY    AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERJCA. 

a  Christian  lady,  whose  labors  in  the  north  end  of  the  city  in 
behalf  of  the  intemperate  had  borne  this  fruit,  he  could  but 
thankfully  note  how  willing  God  is  to  honor  any  worker  in  his 
name.  Dr.  Cuyler,  ever  ready  to  speak  for  Christian  temper- 
ance, pushed  his  plea,  with  great  fervor,  to  get  beforehand  wiih 
this  work  and  save  the  young  from  becoming  addicted  to  intem- 
perate habits,  ringing  the  changes  on  the  proverb  which  he 
made  the  text  of  his  address,  ''  An  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth 
a  ton  of  cure." 

Dr.  Tyng,  with  a  pathos  all  felt  tinging  what  he  said,  pre- 
mised his  earnest  speech  with  a  paraphrased  proverb,  "  An  ounce 
of  mother  is  worth  a  pound  of  priest,"  and  with  rare  power 
showed  how  behind  outcast  and  drunkard  lay,  in  most  instances, 
a  Christian  home,  a  mother's  love  and  care,  and  therefore  we 
need  to  push  before  such  the  tenderness  and  compassion  of 
Christ.  If  any  one  doubted  whether  there  were  hearts  yearn- 
ing for  the  salvation  of  those  who  had  come  under  the  power  of 
drinking  habits,  he  must  have  ceased  therefrom  as  the  requests 
for  prayer  were  read, — from  twenty-five  wives  for  intemperate 
husbands,  from  four  fathers  and  thirty-three  mothers  for  intem- 
perate sons,  from  six  daughters  for  intemperate  fathers,  and 
from  sisters  for  thirty-two  intemperate  brothers. 

These  are  but  samples  of  requests  that  brought  before  you 
a  multitude  of  sorrowing,  suffering  hearts,  and  it  was  like  a 
challenge  to  the  faith  of  God's  people  to  ask  them  to  plead  in 
their  behalf  before  the  mercy  seat.  The  afternoon  session 
opened  with  a  song  from  Mr.  Sankey  which  struck  the  keynote 
of  the  exercises,  "  Rescue  the  Perishing,"  the  choir  and  congre- 
gation joining  in  the  chorus.  Mr.  Wanamaker  then  bore  the 
greetings  of  Philadelphia  to  the  evangelists  and  those  engaged 
in  the  great  work  with  them  in  Boston.  It  seemed  good  to  hear 
his  clear,  decided  testimony  to  the  permanent  benefits  to  his 
city  of  the  meetings  held  there  a  year  ago,  while  it  sent  a  thrill 
of  gladness  and  gratitude  into  every  heart  as  he  spoke  of  the 
wonderful  Temperance  revival  first  kindled  there  under  the 
preaching  of  Francis  Murphy.  Hon.  Wm.  E.  Dodge  followed 
with  a  recital  of  some  things  he  had  observed  and  felt  during 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  69! 

tlie  many  years  he  has  stood  forth  as  the  representative  and 
apostle  of  Temperance.  His  were  words  that  business  men 
could  not  afford  to  slight,  and  they  were  pointed  with  excerpts 
from  life-histories  he  had  known,  which  made  one's  cheeks 
blanch  and  tears  course  unbidden  down-  many  a  strong  man's 
face.  Miss  Williard's  address  following,  again  brought  up 
woman's  power  and  part  in  this  great  work  with  an  eloquence 
which  held  the  audience  spell  bound.  Her  appeal  to  the  moth- 
ers, wives  and  sisters  made  all  feel  that  there  is  something  for 
woman  to  do  as  well  as  suffer.  The  closing  speech  of  the  after- 
noon was  by  Geo.  H.  Stuart,  of  Philadelphia,  who  with  his 
Scotch  fervor  and  telling  illustrations,  roused  to  the  highest 
emotion  the  vast  throng  before  him,  and  fitly  concluded  a  mem- 
orable meeting. 

As  to  the  evening  session,  all  reports  agree  in  saying  that 
such  a  scene  and  such  an  audience  were  never  beheld  before  in 
the  Tabernacle.  Over  five  thousand  were  on  the  floor  of  the 
great  building,  admitted  by  ticket,  that  was  given  in  every  in- 
stance to  a  drinking  person,  or  a  friend  who  brought  one  such.  It 
it  was  a  strange  multitude,  for  included  in  it  were  the  bummers, 
with  their  character  written  on  face  and  clothing  ;  those  with 
brandy-burned  cheeks  and  rubicund  noses,  as  well  as  clear, 
clean-looking  faces — there  to  hear  for  themselves,  or  as  compan- 
ions of  those  who  had  become  intemperate.  To  this  motley  crowd 
John  B.  Gough  spoke  as  only  he  could,  and  so  to  those  literally 
most  needing  it  was  the  Gospel  of  Temperance  preached  by  its 
most  eloquent  advocate.  Thus  closed  the  day  ;  and  who  of 
those  present,  as  speakers  or  hearers,  can  forget  its  scenes  ? 
Old  workers  in  the  Temperance  cause  seemed  to  feel  that  never 
had  they  beheld  such  a  field  day,  and  all  felt  cheered  by  the 
outlook.  Christ  and  his  gospel,  the  only  deliverance  for  the 
drunkard  ;  conversion,  the  only  trustworthy  reformation,  and 
the  proclamation  from  the  pulpit  of  the  same  glad  tidings  to 
every  class  of  sinners  :  these  were  the  new  features  which  here- 
after will  make  the  subject  of  Temperance  a  part  of  our  religion. 

One  of  the  best  testimonies  was  given  by  a  man  who,  when 
he  was  brought  into  the  inquiry-room  seven  weeks  ago,  was  such 


692  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

a  repulsive  and  besotted  object  that  even  Mr.  Moody  remarked, 
"  Is  that  man  worth  saving  ? "  The  man  appeared  exceedingly 
well  at  the  convention,  and  his  story  was  told  in  admirable 
spirit  and  with  impressive  effect.  He  was  kept  three  days  in 
the  Clarendon  Street  Church  till  sobered  and  saved.  Mean- 
while, he  had  tried  every  expedient  and  urged  every  excuse  to 
get  out.  To  his  utter  surprise  a  man  came  to  him  one  day  whom 
he  recognized  as  a  rumseller  at  whose  store  he  had  spent  thou- 
sands of  dollars,  but  who  was  now  a  Christian  man.  This  man 
prayed  and  talked  with  hins,  and  enabled  him  to  realize  that 
there  was  hope  and  salvation  for  the  vilest  of  men.  He  told  the 
touching  fact  that  a  few  days  ago  a  young  woman  spoke  to  him 
as  he  left  the  Tabernacle  and  revealed  herself  to  him  as  his 
only  daughter,  whom  he  had  not  seen  since  he  left  her  a  child 
in  1859,  so  completely  had  he  alienated  himself  from  home  and 
friends. 

In  the  evening  John  B.  Gough  made  the  address.  This  doc- 
trine of  the  faith-cure  for  intemperance  is  no  new  discovery  to 
him.  A  quarter  of  a  century  ago  he  proclaimed,  "  No  pledge 
ever  saved  me,  nor  can  anything  but  the  grace  of  God  save  a 
drunkard."  Dr.  Cuyler  adverted  to  a  fact  which  places  the  old 
Mount  Vernon  Church  of  Boston  in  an  enviable  light,  viz.  :  that 
both  Moody  and  Gough,  "  the  two  men  who  had  reached  more 
souls  with  the  gospel  for  the  drunkard  than  any  other  living 
men,"  were  both  sons  of  that  church. 

Influential  Workers. 

We  begin  our  mention  of  the  helpers  in  the  great  revival  move- 
ment, whose  course  and  issues  we  are  chronicling,  with  the  noble 
labors  of  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  is  con- 
densed from  the  Traveller  : 

Though  still  young,  Miss  Willard  has  been  for  years  a  close 
student  of  literature  and  art,  has  occupied  prominent  positions 
East  and  West  as  an  educator,  has  seen  much  of  what  is  worth 
seeing  in  her  own  and  other  lands,  and  has  now  devoted  all  her 
time  for  some  years  to  the  work  of  Christian  benevolence.  She 
belongs  to  a  family  of  New  England  origin,  who  number  among 


BOSTON  AT  THE    FKET  OF  JESUS.  C93 

their  ancestors  many  eminent  names,  some  of  whom  have  been 
well-known  in  Boston. 

Miss  VVillard  was  horn  near  Rochester,  iN.  V..  and  spent  her 
ea»-ly  years  in  Oberlin,  O.,  and  at  Forest  Home,  the  beautiful 
rural  residence  of  her  father,  near  Janesville,  Wis.  Here  her 
child-like  communion  with  nature  developed  that  intense  sym- 
pathy with  its  "visible  forms" — especially  with  all  living  things 
— which  has  strongly  marked  her  subsequent  life,  and  which  was 
balanced  in  her  youth  by  the  discipline  of  assiduous  study  in 
the  schools. 

In  1868  Miss  Willard  resigned  her  position  of  preceptress  of 
Genesee  VVesleyan  Seminary  at  Lima,  N.  Y.,  in  order  to  carry 
out  a  long-cherished  plan  of  foreign  travel.  She  then  visited 
Europe,  spending  many  months  of  study  in  the  German  capitals, 
in  Rome  and  Paris,  exploring  delighiful  out-of-the-way  corners 
of  England  arid  the  Continent,  and  especially  enjoying  an  ex- 
tended tour  in  Russia.  Switzerland,  Venice,  Athens,  Constanti- 
nople, were  so  many  stages  to  the  Holy  Land,  where  she  rever- 
ently trod  and  studied  the  ways  made  sacred  by  the  Saviour's 
footsteps.  In  Baalbek  and  Damascus,  on  the  Nile  and  the  Red 
Sea,  in  Syria,  Arabia,  Egypt  and  Abyssinia,  she  exercised  powers 
of  observation  which  made  every  day  and  hour  rich  in  thought 
and  association.  Returning  to  Rome,  she  dwelt  for  months  in 
the  shadow  of  the  palace  of  Pius  IX.,  going  often  to  the  sessions 
of  the  Ecumenical  Council,  and  looking  thoughtfully  on  that 
splendid  pageant  of  the  Latin  Church.  Subsequently  another 
prolonged  visit  to  Paris  gave  her  opportunity  for  additional 
study,  for  attendance  at  the  lectures  of  the  Sorbonne,  and  the 
College  de  France,  and  for  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  city 
as  it  was,  just  before  the  war  which  laid  waste  its  pleasant  places. 

Soon  after  her  return  to  this  country.  Miss  Willard  was  elected 
to  the  presidency  of  the  College  for  Women  in  connection  with 
the  Northwestern  University,  near  Chicago.  Here  her  peculiar 
fitness  for  her  position  was  abundantly  manifest  in  ih^*  large 
iniluence  she  exerted  over  the  young  ladies  of  her  charge,  in 
her  wise,  loving  and  eloquent  counsels  to  them,  the  attractions 
of  her  teaching  in  ethics  and  art,  and  the  rapid  growth  in  num- 


694  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

bers  and  reputation  of  the  institution  over  which  she  presided. 
Roused  by  the  religious  temperance  crusade  in  Ohio,  in  which, 
however,  she  had  no  part,  she  resigned  her  position  and  entered 
upon  the  benevolent  work  to  which  she  has  given  the  last  three 
years.  The  Christian  Temperance  Union  of  the  Women  of 
Chicago,  led  by  Miss  Willard,  has  sought  to  place  temperance 
work  on  the  true  basis.  "  It  appeals  to  the  best  motives  dor- 
mant in  a  drunkard's  heart,  and  when  he  struggles  to  his  feet 
he  is  encouraged  to  put  all  his  trust  in  the  omnipotent  Saviour 
of  men." 

Miss  Willard  comes  to  Boston  by  Mr.  Moody's  invitation  to 
present  the  Gospel  message  in  her  womanly  way  to  those  who 
gather  in  her  meetings.  Her  familiar,  simple  manner,  clear, 
melodious  voice,  and  rare  command  of  language,  render  her  an 
especially  winning  speaker,  while  her  deep  Christian  experience, 
wide  culture,  vigor  of  thought  and  versatile  genius  make  her 
meetings  attractive  places  for  the  thoughtful. 

At  the  Clarendon  Street  church  Miss  W^illard  made  an 
address  to  a  large  audience  of  women.  Her  remarks  began 
with  an  allusion  to  the  Crusades  for  the  recoverg  of  the  Holy 
Land,  instituted  by  Peter  the  Hermit.  These  had  all  a  ma- 
terial object — the  rescuing  of  the  land  where  the  Saviour  had 
walked  from  the  hand  of  the  infidel.  But  our  crusade  is  nobler 
and  more  spiritual  ;  and  God  looks  down  on  no  more  hallowed 
ground  than  hearts  converted  and  consecrated  to  His  service. 
Women  have  their  part  to  do  in  the  work.  Miss  Willard  alluded 
to  the  oft-quoted  passage  in  the  epistle  to  the  Corinthians — 
"let  not  your  women  speak  in  the  churches,"  saying  that  it  is 
now  generally  agreed  that  the  force  of  the  injunction  rests  in 
the  word  "  youf,"  and  that  the  apostle  spoke  with  especial 
reference  to  the  peculiar  condition  of  Corinth.  The  speaker 
said  she  had  no  faith  in  prayer-meetings  where  the  leaders  called 
only  on  the  brethren  to  take  part.  God  desires  not  only  the 
basb  and  tenor,  but  the  other  tones  in  prayer  ;  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  grace  should  be  unsaid  in  a  household  because  the 
husband  is  gone,  or  that  no  family  altar  should  be  erected 
because  the  man  does  not  pray. 


BOSTON    AT    IHE    FEET   OF    JESUS.  69$ 

The  glorious  meetings  held  by  her  for  women  were  among  tlie 
most  efficient  sources  of  spiritual  conviction  and  progress,  be- 
cause of  the  immense  numbers  in  attendance  and  the  skilful 
direction  she  gave  them.  God  was  evidently  present  to  bless. 
We  give  some  specimens  of  the  addresses  which  produced  hal- 
lowed effects  on  her  auditors: 

I  have  wished  that  from  the  lips  of  young  women  we  might 
hear  of  the  blessedness  of  carrying  this  temperance  gospel  to 
those  who  drink  and  to  those  who  sell.  The  girls  bore  a  grand 
part  in  that  crusade  work.  The  part  they  bore  had  not  been 
heralded  ;  it  was  just  the  outgrowth  of  the  sentiment  of  that  time. 
In  Cleveland  f  heard  of  three  young  ladies  who  went  with  three 
young  gentlemen,  and  they  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  wine. 
They  went  out  into  the  country  one  day  to  spend  one  afternoon, 
something  like  a  picnic,  and  when  they  were  preparing  for 
lunch,  the  gentlemen  brought  on  wine  to  place  upon  the  table. 
But  these  ladies  looked  with  new  eyes  and  new  feelings  upon 
this  wine  now,  and  they  said,  "  We  cannot  sit  down  at  a  table 
where  there  is  wine,  won't  you  please  put  it  away?  "  And  they 
said,  "  Certainly,  we  will  put  it  away  if  you  wish  it,  and  we  will 
not  take  any  ourselves."  Thus,  standing  there  true,  they  won 
their  victory.  I  was  in  the  Palmer  House  after  one  of  our  even- 
ing meetings,  with  a  friend,  and  I  saw  there  a  party  of  half-a- 
dozen  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  I  saw  the  waiter  bringing  wine, 
and  one  of  the  young  girls  blushed,  and  it  required  some  cour- 
age to  say  as  she  did :  "  Gentlemen,  I  am  sure  you  will  be  will- 
ing that  we  should  have  something  else  not  quite  so  strong.*' 
Courtesy,  gallantry  and  kindliness,  forbade  their  refusing,  and 
these  girls,  preaching  there  their  sermon,  and  standing  firm, 
won  their  victory.  In  Delaware  other  things  have  happened 
which  I  might  relate  to  you.  A  young  lady  educated  in  a 
French  conservatory  of  music  and  cultured  to  the  highest  possi- 
ble point  of  expression,  went  out  ufion  the  street  in  this  holy 
work,  and  her  sweet  voice  found  entrance  where  otherwise  the 
doors  would  have  been  shut.  And  her  friends  said  to  her, 
*'  Don't  do  so  much  ;  you  will  use  your  voice  all  up.  Just  rest 
and  wait    awhile."     But   she  said:  "My  voice,  and   anything 


696  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

that  culture  can  add,  is  none  to  good  to  lay  upon  the  shrine  cl 
such   labor."     A   cultured  young  lady  in   Cincinnati  told   me 
that  she  never  spent  such  delightful  days  in  her  life  as  "going 
from  rum-shop  to  rum-shop  with  grandmother."     She  was  very 
wealthy  and  very  cultured,  and  in  one  of  the  rum-shops  she  met 
some  of  her  tenants.     And  as  she  asked  them  to  sign  over  to 
Him,  and  to  put  their  names  down  upon  this  pledge  in  signifi- 
cance of  their  surrender  to  God,  one  of  them  said  : ''  I  think,  Miss 
Jessie,  you  have  never  signed  the  pledge."     He   said  this  in  a 
sneering  way.     The  man  was   infinitely   below   her  in   what  we 
call  the  social  scale.     She  said,  "True,  1  never  thought  of  that. 
Give  me  the  pencil.     We  never  have  wine  at  our  table,  and  I 
never  tasted  it,  but  if  it  will  help  you  to  sign,  I  will  sign,"  and 
her  youthful  autograph  went  down  upon  that  dirty  paper  with 
the  names  of  those  rough  men.     In  one  place,  the   only  place, 
I  believe,  where  they  met   with   such  opposition,   a  gruff  man 
held  a  pistol  in  his  hand  and  pointed  it  at  them.      Some   of 
them  had  not  sufficient  moral  courage,  but  this  young  lady  quite 
knew  what    to   do.     She   went   right   up    to   his    side    singing 
"Never  be  afraid  to  speak  for  Jesus."     And  that  band  of  noble 
women  went  in  and  held  a  meeting  in  that  place,  and  that  man 
bowed  before  God,  and  gave  his  heart  to  Him.     The  key-note 
in  all  this  work,  in  all  these  girls'  hearts,  was  Jesus.     I  borrow 
the  words  from  one  of  these  dear  sisters  of  Israel.     When  hei 
fashionable  friends  importuned  her  to  go  to  fashionable  dances 
and  parties,    instead  of  going  to  these  drinking  saloons,  she 
would  answer  :  "  Anywhere  my  dear  only  and  ruined  brothei 
can  go  to  drink,  there  I  will  go  to  pray." 
On  another  occasion  she  said  : 

I  am  reminded  of  a  young  man,  a  missionary  to  Africa.  He 
was  about  to  set  sail  and  his  mother  and  sister  went  down  to 
the  wharf  where  the  steamer  la\  to  see  the  last  of  him.  They 
lingered  upon  the  deck  until  the  very  last  thing,  and  when  they 
had  to  leave,  with  trembling  fervor  he  kissed  the  lips  of  her  who 
had  loved  him  since  first  her  face  smiled  down  into  his  in  in- 
fancy, and  then  he  bade  good-bye  to  those  dear  sisters  that  had 
grown  up  around   him.     Then,  as  the  vessel   started  and  the 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  697 

distance  was  mercilessly  widened,  he  did  the  most  consoling 
thing  that  lie  could  do.  He  took  his  IJiljle  and  held  it  up  for 
them  to  see,  and  he  pointed  afar  off,  as  much  as  to  say,  it  is  to 
carry  this  to  those  benighted  people  that  I  go.  And  then  he 
pointed  to  them  with  his  hand,  to  show  ihem  that  this  blessed 
book  was  to  be  their  comforter  while  he  was  gone.  And  then 
he  raised  his  hand  to  heaven  to  indicate  that  his  reward  was 
there.  O,  what  a  blessed  book  it  is.  When  a  man  is  to  be 
sworn  that  he  will  tell  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing 
but  the  truth,  he  is  sworn  upon  this  book.  This  book  is  taken 
as  the  emblem  of  truth,  and  as  such  it  is  placed  in  his  hand. 
The  man  who  is  to  stand  at  the  head  of  our  Government,  and 
who  is  entrusted  to  steer  our  great  ship  of  stale,  places  his 
lips  upon  this  blessed  Word,  as  a  symbol  of  the  truthfulness 
with  which  he  will  discharge  his  trust.  In  those  temples  which 
have  replaced  the  pagan  tefnples,  the  pulpit  has  taken  the  place 
of  the  altar  with  its  smoking  sacrifice.  The  sacrifice  has  been 
made,  and  now  none  is  needed.  And  upon  these  pulpits  lies 
the  Holy  Word.  When  you  go  into  the  real  Christian  home, 
you  find  the  Bible  is  the  first  thing  there.  1  wish  that  when  the 
father  is  away  it  would  never,  never  happen  that  the  family 
would  not  be  gathered  for  prayer,  but  that  the  mother  and 
daughters  would  read  the  Word.  I  remember  when  the  dear 
girl  that  shared  my  life  was  dying,  the  Bible  was  never  away 
from  her  but  she  looked  up  to  me  and  she  said,  "  O  bring  me 
the  Bible,  and  read  to  me  where  He  says  He  is  sorry  for  sick 
people."  O  how  blessed  it  was  to  tell  her  that  He  was  sorry 
for  the  sick.  The  last  sad  words  are  spoken,  and  the  last  sad 
riles  are  performed,  the  dear  voice  is  stilled,  and  the  dear  face 
is  hid  away  in  the  coffin  ;  what  voice  then  gives  us  any  com- 
fort but  His?  Dear  friends,  I  have  wished  that  we  might  sit 
down  and  talk  about  the  study  of  this  book.  A  week  after  this 
Sabbath  evening  next  is  the  last  that  I  shall  have  with  you  for 
Gospel  talk  with  the  ladies,  and  I  shall  be  called  upon  to  talk 
upon  the  subject  that  we  need  to  learn  to  apply  ihis  word.  We 
should  receive  this  word  not  as  the  word  of  man,  but  as  the 
word  of  God,  as  in  truth  it  is.  I  want  you  to  read  now  the 
30 


698  MOODY   AND    SANK^EY    IN    AMERICA. 

seventeenth   chapter   of  Acts,  and   the  eleventh   and    twelfth 
verses : 

"  These  were  more  noble  than  those  in  Thessalonica,  in  that 
they  received  the  word  with  all  readiness  of  mind,  and  searched 
the  Scriptures  daily,  whether  those  things  were  so." 

"Therefore  many  of  them  believed;  also  of  honorable  wo- 
men, which  were  Greeks,  and  of  men,  not  a  few." 

"  Search  the  Scriptures  daily."  A  young  lady  said  to  me: 
"Why,  Miss  Willard,  do  you  mark  your  Bible  all  up  that  way? 
My  father  gave  me  a  beautiful  Bible,  and  he  told  me  to  take 
good  care  of  it  and  not  get  it  all  marked  up."'  I  think  that  is 
one  great  trouble  with  us  ;  we  have  been  too  careful  of  our 
Bibles.  You  remember  the  story  of  good  King  Edward  of  Eng- 
land. He  wanted  to  reach  and  take  down  a  book  that  was 
upon  a  high  shelf,  and  the  servants  put  a  Bible  upon  the  stand 
for  him  to  get  upon.  But  when  he  saw  what  book  it  was  he  got 
very  grave,  and  he  pressed  his  lips  to  it,  and  he  said,  "  Never 
shall  my  foot  step  upon  the  Word  of  God."  That  fact  the 
English  nation  has  reverenced.  This  Word  has  more  to  do 
with  the  stability  of  its  throne  than  anything  else.  This  Word 
is  God's  great  living  letter  of  love  to  us.  Let  us  learn  it  and 
love  it. 

We  hear  a  great  deal  about  reading  the  Bible  and  saying  one's 
prayers.  I  wish  that  neither  expression  could  be  used  by  any 
one  of  us.  So  many  prayers  are  said  when  there  is  no  praying. 
Many  a  man  reads  the  Bible  in  the  morning  and  when  night 
comes  could  not  even  tell  the  chapter  which  he  had  read.  We 
are  well  acquainted  with  the  ephemeral  news  of  the  day,  and 
yet  the  "good  news,"  the  "  tidings  of  great  joy,"  the  Word  of 
God,  is  readily  forgotten.  A  great  deal  depends  upon  how  we 
come  to  read  this  Word  of  God.  Every  one  in  the  family  should 
have  this  word  taught  them,  and  they  should  repeat  it.  Every 
child,  every  servant  should  repeat  it  as  far  as  it  is  practicable 
to  have  this  done.  I  heard  of  a  young  man  speaking  in  the 
Bible-class  and  he  said  he  loved  to  read  the  Old  Testament, 
for  it  taught  of  the  antecedents  of  Christ.  An  old  man  in 
the    room   said:    "Never    mind   about    Christ's    antecedeYits, 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  699 

young  man."  "Yes,  but  I  want  to  know  about  Him.  I  want 
to  know  who  He  was,  so  that  1  can  better  know  Him."  "  Well, 
I  would  hke  to  know  what  it  says  about  Christ's  antecedents?" 
But  the  young  man  couldn't  think  ;  he  knew  that  he  had  read 
it,  but  he  could  not  think  of  a  single  passage,  not  even  that  chap- 
ter in  the  ist  of  John.  I  have  known  a  Sunday  School  teacher 
who  taught  her  class  all  the  historical  part  of  the  Bible,  but 
could  never  find  courage  to  speak  to  them  of  their  personal 
condition.  She  had  not  found  courage  to  say  one  word  about 
what  the  Bible  really  means.  I  turn  back  with  humility  to  the 
time  when  I  taught  a  class  of  twelve  boys,  and  how  I  thought 
to  interest  them  in  these  external  things.  Now  as  I  look  back 
to  that  past  and  know  not  where  these  boys  may  be,  I  know 
that  it  would  have  been  much  better  for  them  and  for  me  to 
have  asked  the  vital  question,  how  is  it  between  you  and  the 
Christ  of  this  book  ?  That  question  I  had  not  the  courage  to  ask 
in  those  days.  We  have  heard  a  good  deal  of  the  Bible.  Some 
men  preach  the  Bible ;  other  men  preach  about  the  Bible. 
Some  people  who  hear  about  this  book  say,  "  What  about  the 
countries  which  had  this  book  and  martyrdom  for  centuries? " 
They  had  this  book,  but  it  was  hid  away  in  monasteries  ;  it  was 
not  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  It  was  chained  up.  God's 
open  Bible,  as  soon  as  it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  people, 
worked  a  complete  transformation,  and  so  it  will  always  do.  It 
must  be  as  effect  follows  cause.  How  much  time  is  spent  over 
books,  literature  and  science  which  could  be  so  much  better 
spent  over  this  word  of  life  !  Vou  and  I  want  to  build  up  char- 
acter ;  it  is  the  only  indestructible  thing;  we  want  to  be  clothed 
in  the  righteousness  of  Him  '*  Who  spoke  as  man  never  spoke 
before."  How  often  we  have  spent  seven,  eight  and  nine  hours 
in  a  day  over  some  book  of  no  real  value.  Did  any  one  of  us 
ever  spend  nine  hours  in  a  day  over  the  *'  Lamb  of  Life?  "  O, 
let  us  make  sure  that  we  are  right  with  God  !  I  have  known 
the  time  when  there  were  other  books  that  pleased  me  more 
than  this  Word  of  God.  I  delighted  rather  to  read  the  books 
which  contained  what  good  men  had  got  out  of  the  Dible,  than 
to  read  the   Bible   for   myself.     Then    I    have  seen   men  and 


700  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

women,  spiritual  athletes  who  seemed  to  feed  upon  the  Word 
and  grow  strong,  and  from  them  I  have  learned  to  partake  of 
this  food  as  God  here  gives  it  to  us. 

Slie  spoke  in  glowing  terms  of  Mary  Lyon  of  South  Hadley, 
and  held  her  up  as  an  example  of  one  who  read  and  understood 
her  Bible  and  was  a  "  doer."  Continuing,  she  said  :  There  is 
another  who,  while  other  men  were  in  college,  while  other  men 
were  in  universities  in  Germany  and  elsewhere,  studying,  read- 
ing science  and  literature,  Dvvight  L.  Moody — he  was  with  His 
God  alone  with  his  Bible.  He  cast  aside  all  commentaries,  he 
asked  his  God  what  he  should  do  and  he  followed  the  Word  as 
God  has  given  it  to  us.  You  know  what  the  result  has  been. 
His  work  has  brought  unto  Christ  multitudes.  Not  only  in  your 
city  has  this  work  been  crowned,  but  in  all  other  places.  He 
preached  the  Bible,  the  Bible,  the  Word  of  God ;  the  religion  of 
the  Protestants.  He  preached  the  law  and  the  testimony.  O, 
may  each  of  you  open  the  Bible  for  study  in  your  houses.  Each 
house  may  become  a  shrine  of  the  Eternal  God.  O,  may  each 
home  become  so  to-day. 

A  Boston  editor  discoursing  of  '^  spheres  and  work,"  says  : 
We  deem  it  of  first  consequence  to  know  that  the  person, 
whetjier  man  or  woman,  has  the  ability  to  do  well  the  work  that 
needs  to  be  done. 

The  Boston  revival  meetings  have  shown  us  how  sensible  a 
rule  this  is^ — we  mean  the  rule  of  workers  and  work,  instead 
of  "  spheres  "  and  work.  Excepting  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  per- 
haps Mr.  Moody,  there  has  been  no  more  effective  laborer  in 
the  meetings  than  Miss  Willard.  A  woman  of  fine  culture,  of 
sweet  and  gentle  spirit,  of  familiar  and  winning  manner,  of 
thorough  Christian  experience,  of  vigorous  thought  and  eloquent 
address,  the  meetings  that  she  has  led  have  been  attended  by 
the  most  marked  and  beneficial  results.  God  has  set  his  seal 
upon  her  work.  In  that  presence,  Paul  has  been  forgotten  and 
the  men  themselves  have  kept  silence. 

We  have  mentioned  Miss  Willard  because  we  could  hardly 
get  around  her  name  in  speaking  of  the  workers  at  the  Taber- 
nacle.    But  there  are  hosts  of  others,  unnamed  in  the  papers  but 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  70I 

known  of  God,  whose  service  has  been  of  the  first  order. 
Among  the  abandoned  and  profligate,  on  the  streets,  in  family 
visitations,  in  the  inquiry  meetings,  these  women  have  been 
among  the  most  successful  workers.  The  fallen,  the  hungry, 
the  poorly  clad,  the  dependent, — these  have  been  the  classes, 
of  both  sexes  and  all  ages,  whose  spiritual  and  bodily  needs  they 
have  faithfully  looked  after.  The  record  of  the  revival,  so  far  as 
human  agencies  are  concerned,  would  be  incomplete  without 
due  account  of  their  work.  Like  those  other  women  whom 
Paul  afterwards  learned  to  honor,  their  "  names  are  in  the  Book 
of  Life." 

We  trust  that  these  examples  will  not  be  lost  sight  of.  The 
church  everywhere  needs  the  work  of  its. women.  Humanity 
needs  it.  In  the  home,  in  society,  among  all  classes  there  is 
service  that  they  are  the  best  fitted  to  perform.  May  not  a 
revival  of  woman's  best  work,  and  of  man's  grateful  recognition 
of  that  work,  follow  these  recent  exhibitions  of  it? 

Another  benevolent  woman  working  in  a  different  sphere, 
Mrs.  Stoddard,  is  thus  referred  to  by  Mr.  Moody:  A  week 
ago  Friday  there  was  a  lady  here  (and  I  have  noticed  her  since 
the  meetings  first  opened,  and  I  don't  think  she  has  missed  a 
day)  who  sat  with  twenty  or  thirty  men  whom  she  had  brought 
to  the  meeting.  She  had  given  them  a  breakfast  and  taken 
them  down  to  the  Friday  noon  meeting.  And  as  I  was  going 
out  after  my  dinner  I  met  one  of  these  very  men,  who  said  he 
did  not  know  that  these  meetings  were  for  the  like  of  him.  The 
people  prayed  for  him  and  I  believe  that  man  was  impressed  for 
all  eternity.  Last  Friday  again  I  looked  and  saw  that  that  same 
lady  had  seventy-seven  men,  whom  she  had  gathered  in  the 
streets,  that  they  might  hear  the  Word  of  Light.  .And  as  ihcy 
sat,  these  men  upon  the  platform  who  had  been  in  their  place 
told  them,  with  the  eloquence  of  Heaven,  of  how  they  had  been 
saved  from  the  intoxicating  cup.  They  spoke  from  their  hearts 
and  honest  convictions.  Many  of  them  wi-  shall  meet  in  heaven, 
I  haven't  any  doubt. 

The  evangelist  invited  to  his  aid  irom  i  iiicago,  Mr.  Sawyer, 
whose  work  among  intemperate  men   has   been    fruitful,  and 


702  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

crowned  with  the  richest  favor  of  God.  On  his  first  introduc- 
tion to  the  Tabernacle  audience  he  spoke  at  some  length  in  a 
rapid  and  forcible  manner,  and  gave  an  extract  from  his  own 
experience,  at  Mr.  Moody's  request.  His  style  of  delivery 
bears  a  very  close  resemblance  to  that  of  Mr.  Moody.  He 
stepped  forward  with  the  Bible  open  at  the  text  of  the  day,  to 
which  he  made  frequent  reference  during  his  address.  He  said 
his  heart  was  so  thrilled  he  hardly  knew  what  to  say,  and  were 
it  not  for  the  word  of  God  that  abides  in  us  he  should  stand 
here  without  a  hope.  But  God's  word  never  fails.  Four  years 
ago  last  November  he  stood  where  that  poor  drunkard  did  who 
sent  in  a  request  for  prayer.  He  stood  right  there ;  he  knew 
what  it  meant  to  be  houseless  and  homeless,  a  poor  miserable 
leper  given  up  to  strong  drink  for  twenty  years,  but  God  took 
him  up.  He  had  never  seen  a  soul  helped  by  talking  about  the 
evils  of  intemperance,  but  he  had  seen  great  good  come  by 
holding  up  the  cure  and  looking  to  the  Lamb  of  God  which 
taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  That  was  the  way  he  was 
saved,  and  God  for  twenty  years  had  kept  him.  From  a  thou- 
sand homes  in  Chicago  goes  up  the  cry  of  praise  to  God  to-day, 
for  drunkards  reformed.  All  that  was  wanted  was  the  help  of 
Gods  people  and  the  wave  would  spread  all  over  the  land.  It's 
the  blood  of  Christ  alone  that  can  save  us,  as  a  poor  drunkard 
said  to  whom  it  had  given  a  happy  home  in  place  of  ruin.  In 
one  respect  intemperance  was  a  disease,  but  God  could  heal  it 
as  He  had  in  his  own  case.  They  wanted  to  crush  their  pride 
also,  for  a  little  while,  and  bow  before  God.  He  was  pleasant 
and  happy,  to-day,  in  all  his  surroundings  because  God  had 
kcjDt  him  ;  once  he  was  downcast  and  a  mourner,  now  he 
was  filled  with  gladness.  The  saddest  thought  of  the  waste- 
fulness of  intemperance  was  that  they  were  wasting  their 
own  souls. 

But  God  will  renew  our  strength  like  the  eagles'.  The 
prayer  of  his  utmost  soul  was  that  the  foundation  of  this  city 
miglU  be  shaken,  and  the  prayers  of  these  sorrowing  mothers  be 
answered.  At  Mr.  Moody's  request  he  then  told  the  story  of 
his  own  experience.     He  had  been  a  boy  with  Jordan,  Marsh 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OK  JESUS.  703 

&'  Co.,ftnd  was  doing  well  and  iiad  many  friends,  but  the  enemy 
overcame  him.  He  got  on  the  road  to  Jericho,  got  stripped  of 
his  raiment  and  beaten  ;  everything  was  gone  and  he  hadn't  a 
hope  on  earth.  It  was  while  in  this  condition — a  wretched 
drunkard — that  he  stumbled  into  a  lawyer's  office  in  Pough- 
keepsie  and  fell  asleep  in  a  chair.  When  he  awoke  the  lawyer 
told  him  he  understood  his  case,  said  he  had  been  there 
himself,  told  him  how  he  was  cured  by  the  grace  of  God  nine 
years  before,  and  how  he  had  been  kept  ever  since.  But  it  was 
hard  for  him  to  believe  it,  the  cure  seemed  so  simple  ;  and  then 
the  lawyer  told  him  the  story  of  Naaman,  and  said  that  the  very 
reason  he  hesitated  to  accept  it  was  because  it  was  so  simple. 
He  then  took  him  at  his  word,  turned  his  back  on  Jericho,  and 
faced  the  promised  land.  He  stopped  drinking  and  went  to 
praying.  He  forsook  his  evil  ways,  and  had  been  happy  ever 
since,  and  trying  what  he  could  do  to  bring  the  same  blessing 
upon  others.  Mr.  Moody  then  rose,  and  the  following  brief 
colloquy  took  place  : 

Mr.  Moody — Has  your  appetite  come  back  ? 

Mr.  Sawyer — No,  sir. 

Mr.  Moody — Has  God  entirely  destroyed  your  appetite  so 
that  it  never  troubles  you  ? 

Mr.  Sawyer — I  would  not  like  to  say  that  God  takes  away 
the  appetite,  but  he  covers  it  up  so  that  we  don't  know  where 
it  is  if  we  live  near  Him.  When  we  don't  live  near  Him  Satan 
finds  it  again  and  plays  on  it.  But  if  we  live  near  Him  we 
d'''n't  know  where  it  is. 

Mr.  Joseph  Story  said:  It  seems  to  me  that  God  is  vindicat- 
ii^g  Himself.  I  thank  God  that  I  have  had  a  part  in  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Tabernacle.  It  seems  to  me  that  God  is  drawing 
men  in  here  in  spite  of  themselves.  Something  had  led  some 
who  had  cursed  Mr.  Moody  and  the  meetings,  into  the  Taber- 
nacle and  took  hold  of  their  hearts  and  made  them  confess  that 
Miey  were  wTong  and  thank  God  that  He  had  delivered  them. 
He  then  related  an  incident  of  a  man  who  in  three  years  had 
squandered  a  fortune  in  rum,  who  had,  after  he  had  prayed  for 
him,  prayed  for  himself  and  wife,  and  is  now  saved  through  the 
power  of  God's  grace. 


704  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

The  Rev  H.  M.  Sargent  said  :  The  editor  of  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal papers  in  Massachusetts  has  requested  a  special  corre- 
spondent to  visit  the  city  to-day  to  ascertain  whether  God's  spirit 
is  moving  upon  the  public.  I  have  taken  him  during  the 
last  hour  where  he  could  visit  some  of  the  meetings,  and  left  him 
to  his  own  reflections.  First,  to  the  furniture  men's  meeting, 
which  was  full.  Next  to  the  marketmen's  meeting.  The  house 
was  crowded,  and  hundreds  standing,  and  the  simple  testimony 
was,  "The  blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  cleansed  me 
from  sin."  The  next  was  the  one  on  the  corner  of  Chauncy  and 
Summer  streets,  where  a  large  congregation  is  gathered.  Six' 
hundred  seats  occupied,  and  several  hundred  standing,  and  the 
testimony  of  those  was  that  the  Lord  was  with  them.  I  will 
give  you  one  simple  testimony  given  by  a  marketman  :  "I  came 
into  this  meeting  five  weeks  ago.  I  went  into  the  corner  of  this 
room,  being  convicted  by  sin,  and  I  went  home  to  my  wife  and 
said,  'Jennie,  I  have  found  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  North 
street ! '  I  had  driven  her  into  the  corner  of  the  house  before, 
that  she  might  not  pray  for  me.  She  lifted  up  her  hands  and 
said  'John,  is  this  so?'  She  couldn't  be  convinced  until  the 
family  Bible  was  brought  out  and  prayer  was  offered  to  mother's 
God  that  we  might  consecrate  the  meeting  to  mother's  God,  and 
those  who  have  been  with  me  in  business,  in  fun  and  frolic,  can 
bear  witness  that  I  have  found  the  Lord." 

Rev.  J.  B.  Dunn,  a  prominent  clergyman,  was  in  thorough 
sympathy  with  the  evangelists,  and  on  one  occasion  said : 
In  addition  to  these  arguments  for  bringing  children  to  Christ — 
the  saving  of  their  own  soul — was  this  :  There  is  no  more  power- 
ful instrument  to  lead  souls  to  Christ  than  little  children.  He 
then  related  the  following  incident :  Among  those  who  professed 
a  new-found  faith  at  his  church  on  Sunday  were  two  young 
misses  whose  parents  resided  in  a  distant  part  of  the  State  ;  in 
the  evening  ihcy  brought  to  him  an  old  gentleman  whom  they 
introduced  as  their  father.  With  tears  in  his  eyes  he  said  he  had 
come  to  prevent  his  children  from  taking  the  step,  but  now  he 
did  not  wish  to  go  home  until  he  had  found  the  Jesus  of  his 
children.     His  brother,  too,  a  skeptic,  had  been  at  church  all 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEET    OF    JF^US.  705 

the  day  to  sec  his  nieces  take  tliis  step,  and  he  was  doubtless 
interested.  Verily,  he  added,  if  the  little  ones  are  brought  to 
Jesus,  they  will  bring  their  parents.  Let  us  get  them  and  we  need 
have  no  fear  but  that  they  will  unite  for  Christ  and  bring  many 
others  into  the  fold. 

The  new  pastor  of  Park  Street  church  threw  the  weight  of 
his  eloquent  voice  into  the  meetings.  As  a  specimen  of  his 
style  we  quote  from  the  Globe  report :  Dr.  Withrow  made  a  briet 
address  from  Revelation  iii.,  20:  "Behold  I  stand  at  the  door 
and  knock  ;  if  any  one  open  unto  Me  I  will  come  in  and  sup 
with  him."  He  said  this  text  had  been  sugi;ested  to  him  by  the 
fact  that  the  city  was  to  be  districted.  God  is  at  the  door. 
Will  you  open  to  Him.?  There  were  different  kinds  of  knocks. 
There  was  the  gentle  knock  and  the  harder  knock.  And  there 
were  great  knockers  upon  some  of  our  doors  that  almost  broke 
the  door  down,  and  in  that  way  sometimes  God  knocked  men. 
He  .sometimes  almost  killed  men  in  order  to  get  them  to  Him. 
After  the  great  Boston  fire  the  general  verdict  would  have  been 
that  there  was  a  Providence  in  it.  Then  there  was  the  genile 
little  knock  or  ring  that  we  have  now  ;  that  was  the  still,  small 
voice  that  is  now  speaking  to  us  in  the  Tabernacle.  Had  any 
other  course  been  pursued  ;  had  a  great  noise  been  made  here, 
the  enemies  of  the  revival  would  have  criticised  us  severely. 
God  was  at  the  door.  The  question  was,  should  we  open  to 
Him  ?  Dr.  Withrow  concluded  his  address  by  exhorting  all  to 
open  the  door  to  the  Saviour  now,  and  He  would  "  come  in  and 
sup  with  you."  The  services  closed  with  a  most  fervent  prayer 
by  Dr.  Withrow  and  the  benediction. 

The  Baptist  church  was  represented  by  many  earnest  men, 
among  whom  stood  forth  Rev.  A.  J.  Gordon,  Rev.  George  C. 
Lorimer,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  George  F.  Pentecost,  as  the  leading 
spirits.  Rev.  Dr.  George  C.  Lorimer  said  that  there  were  two 
tilings  in  the  third  chapter  of  John  which  he  desired  to  empha- 
size as  being  of  equal  importance  to  those  who  are  guiding 
inquirers,  and  those  who  are  seeking  the  blessings  of  eternal 
life.  First,  the  marvellousness  of  that  change  which  is  m.ide  in 
the  human  soul ;  second,  the  thoroughness  of  that  change,  radi- 


7o6  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

cal,  so  that  man  is  indeed  a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus.  In 
this  city,  and  I  presume  in  other  cities,  there  is  a  class  of  people 
that  are  anxious  to  have  a  religion  of  common  sense.  There 
are  some  practically-shaped  men  who  are  driving  hard  after 
what  they  call  a  religion  of  common  sense.  The  miraculous 
and  supernatural  elements  they  regard  as  unworthy  the  confi- 
dence of  the  minds  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  they  want 
common  sense.  They  say  that  they  do  not  believe  in  the  ado- 
ration of  the  Trinity,  because  it  is  not  in  accordance  with  com- 
mon sense.  They  don't  believe  that  any  one  can  be  made  over 
again  and  made  a  new  creature  ;  that  it  isn't  in  harmony  with 
common  sense.  But,  men  and  women,  the  grandest  things  even 
outside  of  religion  are  not  in  accordance  with  common  sense. 
Generosity,  selfishness,  nobility,  manhood,  forgiveness,  all  that 
makes  a  man  grand,  even  apart  from  religion,  are  not  things 
that  harmonize  with  common  sense.  Common  sense  is  self- 
seeking  and  guards  its  own.  It  violates  all  the  rules  of  that 
generosity  that  understands  the  divine  philosophy,  that  he  who 
scatters  yet  increases,  while  he  who  holds  simply  to  one  thing 
gendereth  little.  Men  may  not  know  the  time  when  they  passed 
from  death  unto  life,  but  every  child  of  God  knows  that  whereas 
they  were  once  blind  they  now  see.  He  needs  no  man  to  tell 
him  that  he  has  faiih  in  Christ,  that  he  is  a  new  creature,  that 
old  things  have  passed  away,  and  behold  all  things  have  be- 
come new.  We  have  a  consciousness,  an  inner  sense,  that 
Christ  has  been  received  from  heaven.  The  other  thought  is 
the  thoroughness  of  the  work.  You  must  be  born  again,  and  it 
is  no  superficial  but  a  radical  change  ;  the  old  man  is  destroyed 
and  a  new  one  created.  I  think  the  passage  of  Paul,  in  the 
fourth  chapter  of  Ephesians,  gives  a  very  clear  idea  of  the  thor- 
oughness of  this  change,  that  you  are  to  put  away  the  old  man  who 
is  corrupting  the  heart  to  deceitful  lusts.  But  the  new  man  is 
created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness.  I  apjirehend  there 
is  imparted  to  man  the  spirit  of  holiness  after  he  has  been  born 
again.  Holiness  becomes  a  passion  with  him,  and  from  morn- 
ing to  night  there  is  a  longing  and  thirsting  after  holiness.  It 
makes  a  man  better  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  It  makes  better 
fathers,  mothers,  business  men  more  honest  and  devoted. 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEET   OF   JESUS.  707 

Rev.  A.  J.  Gordon  said  he  was  not  going  to  speak  so  much 
of  numbers  as  power.  He  believed  in  the  power  decidedly. 
When  he  was  a  boy  on  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut  he  knew  a 
flood  was  coming  when  the  drift  wood  was  carried  from  the  bank, 
so  when  these  "  outsiders  "  were  being  drawn  into  the  church 
he  knew  the  water  was  rising  and  he  felt  very  deeply  and  thor- 
oughly that  the  tide  of  Divine  influence  is  rising  in  just  that  way. 
One  other  thing  he  wanted  to  say  was  that  he  was  most  grate- 
fully glad  that  so  many  men  were  being  helped  by  the  simple 
presentation  of  the  Gospel  as  they  have  it  presented  to  them 
here.  This  doctrine  of  trust  is  what  they  want.  He  was  glad 
to  see  a  good  many  children  being  convened  by  this  idea  of  sim- 
ple trust  in  Christ.  Last  night  he  met  a  laborer,  a  man  who 
had  been  in  great  distress,  and  who  was  thoroughly  willing  to 
accept  Christ.  He  presented  the  Gospel  to  him  in  this  way.  All 
he  had  to  do  was  to  trust  Christ  for  his  salvation  ;  and  he  had  not 
spoken  to  him  more  than  five  minutes  before  he  said  he  thought 
it  was  going  to  be  a  great  job  before  he  could  be  saved,  but  now 
he  saw  that  Jesus  Christ  had  done  it  all.  And  as  soon  as  this  man 
had  accepted  Christ  and  was  saved,  he  went  for  another  man. 
Many  had  that  idea  that  a  great  work  would  have  to  be  done 
before  they  could  be  saved,  but  Jesus  Christ  has  done  it  all. 
There  is  no  peril  in  putting  men  on  that,  on  the  word  and  testi- 
mony of  God.  "  The  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making  wise 
the  simple." 

The  Rev.  Henry  Morgan  made  one  of  his  characteristic  ad- 
dresses, speaking  as  follows :  This  is  the  first  time  I  have  opened 
my  lips  in  these  meetings.  I  have  listened.  Would  this  revi- 
val be  a  success  .''  When  I  saw  business  men  on  their  knees  I 
said  there  is  hope  for  Boston.  A  fairy  tale  of  the  Alhambra 
tells  us  of  a  whole  city  turned  to  stone.  At  the  end  of  a  hun- 
dred years  the  enchantment  was  to  break  at  the  sound  of  a 
trumpet.  There  stood  the  frozen  knights,  sheathed  in  armor, 
awaiting  the  signal  for  the  onset.  At  their  head  stood  their 
leader,  with  hand  on  the  calm  mane  of  his  petrified  horse.  All 
is  still,  lifeless,  death-like,  silent.  The  pale  moon  casts  its  cold 
splendor  on  the  scene.     Hark  !  That  blast  !  It  is  the  sound  of 


7o8  MOODY   AND   SAN-KEY    IN   AMERICA 

the  resurrection  trump  to  that  city  !  Earth  quakes.  All  leap  to 
life.  The  war  horse,  with  distended  nostrils,  shakes  his  mane, 
paws  the  valley,  and  neighs  for  battle.  The  warrior  seizes  the 
reins,  leaps  to  the  saddle,  waves  his  plume,  levels  his  lance,  and 
charges  "  Ah  !  ha  !  "  for  victory  !  That  frozen  city  represents 
Boston,  congealed,  in  its  pride  and  infidelity.  Hark  !  The 
trumpet  voice  of  spiritual  revivification  !  The  hour  has  struck 
the  cycle  of  the  hundred  years.  The  frozen  city  is  awake. 
The  stocks  and  stones  cry  out.  The  fetters  of  sin  are  bursting. 
The  shackles  of  infidelity  are  yielding.  Up !  ye  men  of  sin, 
congealed  in  the  bondage  of  habit.  Up  !  ye  votaries  of  the  cup  ! 
ye  slaves  of  appetite.  *  Up  !  ye  knights  of  the  chamber  !  Break 
the  spell,  your  hour  has  come.  The  steeds  of  heavenly  promise 
are  at  your  door.  Seize  the  reins  of  faith.  Leap  to  the  saddle 
of  hope.  Strike  deep  the  spur  of  holy  enthusiasm.  Level  the 
lance  of  God's  truth,  crying,  "  Ah  !  ha !  "  and  rush  to  victory. 
Hark  !  There  is  a  sound  of  a  going  in  the  top  of  the  mulberry 
trees  !  From  the  granite  hills  of  New  Hampshire  to  the  Atlan- 
tic coast  men  are  praying  for  the  good  time  coming,  when  the 
redeemed  shall  sing  "  The  dead  are  alive,  the  lost  are  found, 
the  prisoners  are  freed  !  Intemperance  banished  !  Christ  rules  ! 
Hallelujah  !  Hallelujah  !  The  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth  !  " 
Rev.  L.  B.  Bates,  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  gave  the  assistance 
of  his  earnest  spirit  to  the  movement.  In  one  of  his  addresses 
he  said  :  When  I  was  a  young  man,  nineteen  years  of  age,  my 
mother  said  to  me:  "  Louis,  if  you  intend  to  be  a  minister  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  you  must  always  be  ready  for  two  things 
— you  must  always  be  ready  to  speak  for  the  Master,  and  you 
must  always  be  ready  to  die."  And  I  think,  brethren  of  the 
ministry,  if  we  are  ready  for  the  latter,  we  shall  always  be  ready 
to  do  the  former.  I  wish  to  call  attention,  just  for  a  moment,  to 
the  three  "  comes  "  in  the  seventeenth  verse  of  the  last  book  in 
the  Bible.  Somebody  has  said  that  this  word  "come  "  occurs 
more  than  three  thousand  times  in  this  Book.  God  invites  all 
men  to  come-  In  the  very  last  book,  and  almost  at  its  very 
close,  the  word  "come  "  appears  three  times  ;  indeed,  the  call 
is  repeated  a  fourth  time,  in  another  form.     The  Spirit  and  the 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FKET  OK  JESUS.  709 

Bride  say,  come;  and  let  him  that  hcarcth  say  come,  and  let  him 
that  is  athirst  come,  and  whosoever  will  let  him  take  the 
water  of  life  freely."  The  older  people  in  this  audience  will 
remember  the  financial  crisis  of  1857-58,  a  crisis  as  hard  as  the 
present,  but  not  so  long.  In  New  York  tlicre  was  a  Christian 
blessed  with  money  ;  and  he  said  to  himself,  *' What  better  use 
can  I  make  of  my  money  than  to  feed  the  hungry?"  So  be 
procured  a  hall  and  hung  over  the  street  in  front  of  it  a  banner 
on  which  was  inscribed  in  letters  of  gold,  "  Plenty  to  eat  and 
nothing  to  pay."  He  said  he  got  his  idea  from  this  passage 
of  the  Book  of  Revelation  :  "Whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the 
water  of  life  freely."  Early  in  the  mornitig  a  lawyer  who  had 
no  clients  and  no  business  by  which  he  might  support  his  family 
passed  along  the  street  and  saw  the  banner  and  its  motto.  He 
stopped.  "  That's  a  lie,"  said  he  ;  "  there  is  nothing  in  Black- 
stone  to  show  that  a  man  ever  said  or  ever  did  such  a  thing  as 
this,  or  that  a  man  ever  will."  He  passed  on;  and  another 
man,  a  mechanic,  destitute  and  in  sore  need,  came  aJong  and 
saw  the  banner.  ''  Such  a  thing  was  never  heard  of  in  New 
York  city  before  ;  I  don't  believe  it's  true."  And  on  he  went 
in  search  of  some  way  to  earn  his  bread.  And  presently  a  poor 
widow  passed  down  the  street,  who  had  just  shut  the  door  of  her 
attic  upon  the  prattling  voice  saying  "  Bread."  She  did  not 
look  down  or  pass  by,  but  crossed  the  street  and  entered  the 
hall,  and  met  the  proprietor  at  the  door.  "What  can  I  do  for 
you,  lady  .?"  he  asked.  "  I  have  four  children  hungry  at  home,** 
was  her  answer.  '' I  saw  your  invitation  and  came  in."  ''But 
first  seat  yourself  at  this  board,"  said  the  man,  "and  satisfy 
your  own  wants."  ''  I  wish  that  my  children  may  be  fed,"  she 
said.  "  Be  seated,  lady,"  said  the  man,  "  I  will  send  a  waiter 
to  your  house,  and  he  will  see  that  your  children  are  fed  as  well 
as  you."  Who  acted  upon  the  true  impul.se,  my  friends,  this 
poor  mother  or  those  who  passed  by  in  unbelief.'  This  banner 
of  God's  free  salvation  stretches  from  eternity  to  this  earth. 
One  end  is  fastened  10  the  Cross  of  Calvary.  The  Spirit  and 
the  Bride  say,  "Whosoever  will,  let  him  come."  John  Bunyan 
used  to  say  that  he   was  glad   that   he  did   not  find  his  name 


yiO  MOODV    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

written  in  this  invitation  :  for  there  were  many  John  Bunyans  in 
the  world,  and  he  could  not  tell  who  was  meant.  "  But  whoso- 
ever," said  he,  "means  me."  It  means  you,  it  means  all. 
There  is  not  one,  however  fallen,  to  whom  this  gracious  invita- 
tion does  not  come.  ^ 
Rev.  E.  R.  Webb,  D.  D.,  one  of  Boston's  best  Congrega- 
tional pastors,  labored  with  such  zeal  as  to  break  himself  down 
in  the  Tabernacle  work.  He  said :  In  the  chapter  we  have 
read,  after  Jesus  had  told  them  in  such  a  positive  way  that  if 
they  did  not  accept  Him  they  should  die  in  their  sins,  they 
raised  this  question  :  "  Who  art  Thou  ?  "  The  question,  I  sup- 
pose, is  raised  by  a  great  many  persons  who  reflect  seriously 
upon  this  matter,  "  Who  art  Thou  ?  "  If  there  is  anything  in 
this  world  that  gives  me  pure,  hearty  comfort  at  times,  it  is  this 
question,  the  answer  to  which  is  found  in  the  Word  of  God.  We 
ministers  sometimes  contend  very  earnestly  for  what  we  think 
and  believe,  and  not  always  with  the  best  spirit,  although  with 
the  best  intentions.  We  have  our  times  of  weakness,  also,  times 
of  loneliness.  It  is  when  we  are  ourselves  in  circumstances  of 
trial,  when  we  feel  the  hand  of  God  heavy  upon  us.  Then  we 
retire  to  our  closets  and  answer  that  question  as  we  read  God's 
word  and  know  in  whom  we  have  trusted.  I  have  seen  some 
dark  days  since  I  have  been  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  days  in 
which  I  could  have  lain  on  the  floor  and  cried  all  day  on  ac- 
count of  defilement  before  God.  I  have  seen  many  days  so 
dark  that  the  sun  to-day  with  all  its  brightness  is  only  twilight 
compared  to  it.  The  only  thing  I  did  not  let  go  of  was  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  and  My  Saviour.  I  do  not  expect  to 
see  the  day,  if  I  die  with  my  reason,  so  dark  that  I  cannot  cling 
to  Him,  because  I  know  who  He  is.  Oh,  what  a  comfort  it  is 
to  our  hearts  that  step  with  little  steps,  after  the  great  strides 
of  the  apostles,  that  we  can  say,  "  I  know  in  whom  I  have 
trusted."  Such  belief  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  lightens  the  bur- 
dens of  the  world.  How  can  any  one  refuse  to  accept  the  in- 
vitation to  accept  Him  ?  If  there  is  doubt  in  our  sincerity  if 
you  turn  to  this  blessed  Word  you  cannot  doubt  the  sincerity  of 
t!:e  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who  suffered  and  died  for  us.     Then  why 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  71I 

not  accept  Ilim,  all  of  you  here  to-day  ?  Why  not  tak^  Him  to 
your  poor,  weary  hearts  and  have  a  friend  in  time  of  need  and 
an  advocate  by  and  by?  At  the  close  of  Dr.  Webb's  remarks 
Mr.  Sankey  said  :  "  I  would  like  to  ask  you  all  to  turn  to  the 
seventy-first  hymn.  Dr.  Webb's  experience  is  nothinj;  new. 
This  hymn  is  many  hundred  years  old.  It  contains  these 
thoughts  about  the  Father  above.  It  is  one  of  the  most  pop- 
ular hymns  on  the  other  side  of  the  water.  I  have  not  heard 
it  sung  on  this  side,  but  I  hope  it  will  be  before  long.  Allow 
me  to  sing  a  verse  or  two.  There  are  precious  thoughts 
brought  out  by  this  hymn  not  all  of  joy.  Some  of  sorrow  ;  not 
to  be  greater,  not  to  be  above  the  Master,  but  to  be  willing  to 
suffer  and  be  with  Him." 

The  following  notices  of  the  leader  of  the  great  choir  whose 
efficient  services  were  recognized  by  the  tens  of  thousands 
who  thronged  the  Tabernacle,  will  give  a  glimpse  of  his  work 
and  his  religious  character. 

At  the  usual  time  the  preliminary  service  of  praise  was  held, 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Tourjee,  whose  indefatigable  work  in 
connection  with  the  revival  has  done  so  much  to  make  the 
meetings  attractive.  The  regular  choir  for  the  evening  was  pre- 
sent in  force,  and  the  singing  was  full  and  hearty.  Several  new 
hymns,  which  had  been  prepared  for  the  Tabernacle  services, 
were  given  ;  and  among  the  other  songs  rendered  were  "  Come 
Sing  the  Gospel's  Joyful  Sound,"  "Thine,  Gracious  Lord," 
"  Rescue  the  Perishing,"  ''  I  Am  Thine,"  "  Everything  to  God 
in  Prayer,"  ''  Jesus  paid  it  All,"  ''  O  Happy  Day,"  and  "There 
is  a  Fountain  Filled  with  Blood." 

He  was  present  at  a  boys'  meeting :  Dr.  Tourjee  stepped  for- 
ward, and,  in  his  calm  way,  said:  "Boys,  I  accepted  Christ 
when  I  was  seven  years  old  ;  I  can  remember  it  as  if  it  were 
but  yesterday.  I  remember  that  I  used  to  read  certain  verses 
from  the  Bible,  and  irvmany  cases  I  fully  understood  their  mean- 
iiii;.  I  knew  that  I  was  sinning  every  day  of  my  life,  as  ever)'- 
one  here  to-night  are  constantly  doing.  I  did  not  lie  ;  I  did 
not  steal  or  swear  ;  but  at  the  same  time  I  knew  that  I  was  not 
a  good  boy.     I   went  to  the  Lord  privately  and  asked  him  to 


712  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

accept  me  just  as  I  was.  The  Lord  did  do  this.  But  the  one 
mistake  which  I  made,  boys,"  continued  Dr.  Tourjee,  "was  Ihnt 
I  kept  my  conversion  to  myself.  I  didn't  even  tell  my  father 
or  mother.  So  arriving  at  my  eleventh  year  I  finally  lost  Christ. 
If  I  had  told  my  parents  or  friends  of  my  conversion  I  should 
have  been  much  happier.  So  I  ask  every  one  of  you  to-night 
who  are  Christians  to  tell  your  companions  of  it.  Don't  believe 
in  the  devil  when  he  tells  you  'Wait;'  believe  in  the  Lord; 
He  will  always  be  your  friend." 

These  gatherings  for  boys  were  evidently  full  of  interest  and 
profit. 

The  first  was  attended  by  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  boys, 
ranging  from  ten  to  sixteen  years  of  age.  Just  before  the  meet- 
ing opened  several  mothers  led  in  their  sons,  selected  seats  for 
them,  and  then  withdrew.  Mr.  Hastings,  a  young  man  from 
the  Olivet  Church,  conducted  the  services  in  a  most  informal, 
conversational  manner,  which  was  undoubtedly  very  encourag- 
ing to  the  boys  assembled.  With  a  large  Bible  in  his  hand, 
Mr.  Hastings  walked  up  and  down  in  front  of  his  youthful  in- 
quirers, first  directing  his  conversation  to  one  part  of  his  audi- 
ence, then  to  another.  "I  was  once  a  boy  myself,"  said  Mr. 
Hastings,  "  and  so  I  can  sympathize  with  every  one  of  you  in 
your  desire  to  get  nearer  to  Christ.  I  remember  that  when  I 
was  a  boy — and  that  was  not  a  very  long  time  ago — I  got  ac- 
quainted with  a  boy  who  was  more  than  my  equal  both  men- 
tally and  physically.  I  became  very  much  attached  to  him 
because  I  saw  that  he  was  generally  looked  up  to  by  compan- 
ions of  his  own  age.  This  led  me  to  follow  their  example.  I 
wish  now,  my  young  friends,  that  I  had  not  followed  their  ex- 
ample. The  boy  of  whom  I  speak  soon  got  an  unenviable 
reputation  among  his  companions,  some  of  whom  were  not 
nearly  as  bad  at  heart  as  the  boy  I  have  mentioned.  I  had  no 
one  at  that  time,"  continued  Mr.  Hastings,  "  to  tell  me  that  I 
was  doing  wrong  in  going  with  this  boy  ;  and  it  was  not  until 
the  boy  in  question  committed  some  grave  offence  that  my  eyes 
were  finally  opened.  I  left  off  going  with  him  ;  but  although  I 
did  not  thereafter  go  with  him  I  kept  familiar  with  the  kind  of 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  713 

life  he  was  leading.  It  was  not  the  life  which  I  knew  good 
boys  were  in  the  habit  of  leading  ;  and  it  grieves  me  to  be 
obliged  to  say  to  you,  my  young  friends  to-night,  that  this  boy, 
with  whom  I  used  to  associate,  is  going  about  the  streets  of 
Boston  a  common  drunkard."  Mr.  Hastings  appeared  deeply 
afieclcd  as  he  concluded  relating  this  story,  and  as  he  was  about 
sealing  himself  he  called  on  a  Mr.  Herbert  of  Lynn  to  lead  in 
prayer.  Mr.  Herbert  in  his  prayer  appealed  to  God  in  a  most 
fervent  manner  that  He  would  see  the  importance  of  this  gath- 
ering, and  bless  it  just  as  much  as  other  meetings.  After  this 
prayer,  Mr.  Hastings  stood  up  and  said  that  he  wanted  every 
boy  who  had  already  become  a  Christian  to  stand  up  and  tes- 
tify what  the  Lord  had  succeeded  in  doing  for  them.  As  none 
immediately  arose,  Mr.  Hastings  said,  "  Don't  be  afraid  ;  I 
want  all  to  be  first."  None  stood  up,  however,  and  so  Mr. 
Herbert  rose  and  said,  "  I  thought  that  possibly  some  of  the 
Lynn  boys  who  are  present  might  like  to  tell  their  simple 
stories  of  conversion."  Hereupon  a  boy,  probably  fifteen  years 
of  age,  rose  and  testified  that  he  had  found  Christ  three  years 
ago.  "Boys,"  he  said,  speaking  quite  loudly,  "you  hardly 
know  how  happy  I  have  been  since  I  have  become  a  Christian. 
Some  of  you  no  doubt  think  that  in  order  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian you  must  constantly  put  on  a  long  face  and  otherwise  look 
grave.  I  have  not  found  this  at  all  necessary.  Since  I  have 
received  Christ  into  my  heart  I  feel  like  a  new  person.  I  feel 
happy  all  the  time.  You  must  not  think,  boys,  that  if  you  once 
become  a  Christian  you  must  give  up  all  pleasures  and  never 
have  any  more  fun.  That  is  a  mistaken  idea.  I  enjoy  myself 
much  better  now  than  I  did  before  I  was  converted.  I  ask  all 
of  you  boys  who  are  not  Christians  to  find  Christ  to-night,  then 
you  will  be  as  happy  as  I  am."  The  boy  spoke  with  great  ear- 
nestness as  if  he  believed  all  that  he  had  uttered,  and  as  he 
^sat  down,  Master  Harry  Sankcy  rose  and  read  from  a  chapter 
in  John.  "  I  think,"  said  Master  Harry,  "  we  must  first  receive 
the  Holy  Spirit  from  the  Bible  before  we  can  hope  to  accept 
Christ.  I  hope  that  all  here  will  have  this  Holy  Spirit  to- 
night."    As  Master  Sankey  sat  down,  a  colored  young  man 


714  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

who  had  been  converted  said  that  he  hoped  all  the  boys  as 
sembled  had  mothers  living  and  who  were  accustomed  to  pray 
for  their  sons.  '*  I  had  a  mother,"  continued  this  young  man, 
"  who  actually  wasted  away  her  life  praying  for  me.  That  was 
before  I  was  converted.  I  didn't  see  my  mistake  then.  I  went 
with  all  sorts  of  bad  companions  and  came  home  at  all  hours 
of  the  night,  and  almost  any  hour  at  which  I  might  come  home 
I  found  my  mother  praying,  and  she  was  always  praying  for 
me.  But  I  am  now  a  Christian,  boys,  and  I  want  every  one  of 
you  to  become  one."  A  little  boy  of  about  ten  years  old  here 
got  up  and  said  that  he  once  was  in  the  habit  of  drinking  cider 
and  going  with  very  bad  boys,  but  since  he  had  become  a 
Christian  he  had  no  desire  to  drink  or  associate  with  bad  com- 
panions. A  young  man  then  told  of  God's  infinite  power  and 
goodness,  closing  by  entreating  the  boys  present  to  go  to  God 
immediately.  Mr.  Hastings  here  said  that  as  it  was  very  near 
the  time  for  closing  the  meeting  he  would  only  read  a  few  ot 
the  verses  contained  in  the  forty-fifth  chapter  of  John,  and  then 
request  all  the  boys  really  desirous  of  becoming  Christians  to 
stand.  This  was  done,  Mr.  Hastings  immediately  calling  on 
Master  Sankey  to  offer  the  closing  prayer.  Master  Harry 
bowed  his  head  and  uttered  a  few  inspiriting  words,  and  closed 
his  prayer  by  asking  God  to  bless  this  and  subsequent  meet- 
ings. At  the  particular  request  of  Mr.  Hastings  the  uncon- 
verted boys  remained  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  for  the  purpose 
of  having  a  private  talk  with  him. 

At  another  meeting :  As  fast  as  the  boys  entered  the  room 
they  were  directed  to  take  seats  in  front  and  away  from  the 
entrance  doors.  Mr.  Hastings  conducted  the  meeting  as  usual, 
and  the  services  were  opened  by  singing  the  sixty-fifth  hymn. 
^*  Now,  as  our  time  is  short,"  said  Mr.  Hastings,  ''  we  must  get 
as  many  testimonies  of  God's  goodness  as  we  can  ;  so  who  will 
be  the  first  boy  to  rise  ?  "  One  bright-looking  boy  here  rose 
anc}  said  he  had  accepted  God,  and  was  very  glad  that  he  had 
done  so.  Another  boy,  slightly  larger  than  the  first,  said  that 
he  had  found  God  one  year  ago.  "If  everyone  of  you  boys 
here,"  continued  the  boy,  "  knew  how  very  happy  1  feel  to- 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  715 

night,  every  one  of  you,  I  think,  would  be  willing  to  give  your 
heart  to  Jesus  before  leaving  this  room.  Since  I  gave  myself 
to  Jesus  I  never  spent  a  more  happy  year.  I  pray  that  all  of 
you  may  realize  God's  great  goodness  in  time."  A  Lynn  boy 
then  offered  prayer,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  Mr.  Hastings 
asked  for  more  testimony.  A  boy  here  got  up  and  said  that 
he  had  received  God  five  years  ago.  "  I  don't  think,"  said 
this  boy,  "  that  any  of  us  should  for  a  moment  be  afraid  of 
being  converted  at  these  meetings.  Some  boys  I  know  of  are 
afraid  to  get  up  and  speak  when  so  many  boys  are  around 
them,  but  I  don't  think  that  we  should  think  of  ourselves  when 
we  speak,  but  of  the  Lord,  whom  1  hope  all  present  want  to 
serve.  Some  of  these  boys,  no  doubt,  do  not  believe  in  being 
converted  quickly  ;  they  want  to  take  their  own  time  for  it. 
Now,  I  think  these  meetings  are  the  right  kind,  and  every  boy 
here  to-night  should  fully  appreciate  them."  A  boy  aged  about 
eleven  or  twelve  then  rose  and  said  that  he  loved  the  Lord 
with  all  his  heart,  and  he  hoped  that  every  boy  in  the  room 
would  do  the  same.  "  I  want  to  read  a  verse,"  said  this  boy, 
turning  over  the  leaves  of  a  Bible,  "  from  the  fifth  chapter  of 
Corinthians,  thirteenth  verse :  '  For  whether  we  be  beside  our- 
selves, it  is  to  God  ;  or  whether  we  be  sober,  it  is  for  your  cause.'" 
*'  I  thank  you  for  reading  that  verse,"  said  Mr.  Hastings.  "  I 
remember  perfectly  well  when  I  was  converted.  It  was  eleven 
years  ago.  I  was  present  at  a  meeting  similar  to  this  one,  and 
I  was  just  as  much  afraid  to  get  up  and  tell  how  I  loved  Christ 
as  many  of  you  are  ;  but  I  did  get  up  finally.  What  do  you 
think  I  said  }  Why  I  couldn't  say  anything.  My  lips  were 
closed  just  as  tight  as  a  vise.  Many  of  the  grown  people 
around  me  tried  to  get  me  to  open  my  lips  and  say  something 
but  I  couldn't  do  it.  I  wanted  to  say  'Lord  1  love  you,' as 
one  little  boy  said  a  little  while  ago.  There  was  enough  in  my 
heart,"  continued  Mr.  Hastings,  *'  which  if  uttered  would  have 
told  its  own  simple  story.  But  my  lips  wouldn't  open,  and  I 
finally  turned  my  back  on  the  crowd  of  people  and  burst  into 
tears.  All  the  boys  there  seemed  to  understand  that  1  had 
given  my  heart  to  the  Lord  that  night,  although  I  had  not  said 


7l6  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

one  word  to  that  effect.  I  went  home  and  prayed  that  night ; 
I  prayed  that  the  Lord  might  give  me  something  to  do.  He 
did  give  me  plenty  of  good  work  to  do,  and  whenever  I  saw  a 
boy  of  my  age  going  astray  I  endeavored  to  point  out  to  him 
the  light.  Now  isn't  there  some  boy  here  who  would  like  to 
be  prayed  for?  Hasn't  he  a  brother,  sister,  father  or  mother 
for  whom  he  wants  to  ask  prayers  ?  "  Quite  a  small  boy  then 
asked  prayers  for  his  brother,  "  who  was  leading  a  bad  life." 
"  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  you  ask  prayers  for  your  brother," 
said  Mr.  Hastings,  "  you  couldn't  do  better  than  that.  I  don't 
want  any  of  you  boys  to  look  doubtfully  on  religion.  Every- 
thing good  and  great  has  been  accomplished  through  knowl- 
edge of  religion.  Boys,  don't  be  afraid  to  own  that  you  are  a 
Christian,  that  you  love  the  Bible.  I  wonder  how  many  of 
the  boys  present  to-night  know  the  message  which  was  first 
transmitted  by  telegraph  ?  Who  is  going  to  tell  me  ? "  As 
no  boy  responded,  Mr.  Hastings  said,  "  I  think  it  was  this  : 
What  hath  God  wrought.?  You  see,  boys,  that  men  at  that 
time  had  great  respect  for  God,  a  great  love  for  him."  After  a 
few  more  boys  had  stood  up  and  said  that  they  had  unreserv- 
edly accepted  Christ,  Mr.  Hastings  said  :  "  Now  I  would  like 
to  tell  you  a  true  story.  Away  in  the  highlands  of  Scotland 
lived  a  young  and  pretty  girl  with  her  widowed  mother.  This 
girl  was  a  trifle  vain  ;  she  wanted  to  see  more  of  the  world  than 
she  could  possibly  hope  to  see  in  her  isolated  mountain  home. 
I  don't  think  that  she  was  much  different  from  many  of  the 
girls  living  in  this  city  to-day.  This  girl  of  whom  I  am  speak- 
ing wanted  to  get  away  by  herself  in  son-^e  city,  where  she 
thought  there  would  be  no  possible  restraint  upon  her,  and  she 
could  have  a  good  time.  So  this  girl  finally  made  up  her  mind 
to  go  away  from  her  home  and  only  living  parent.  One  dark 
night,  after  having  collected  some  of  her  clothes  into  a  bundle, 
and  provided  herself  with  money,  she  stole  from  her  home  and 
went  to  Glasgow.  With  her  money,  good  clothes  and  a  pretty 
face  she  almost  constantly  had  a  crowd  of  companions  about 
her.  Her  head  was  naturally  very  easily  turned,  and  she  didn't 
seem  to  see  the  consequences  of  her  career.     But,  boys,  let  me 


BOSTON    AT   THK    FEET   OF   JF^US.  fjj 

tell  you  rij;bt  here,  that  all  wlio  associated  with  this  ;;itl  did  so 
from  an  evil  motive.  The  girl  didn't  sec  it  in  that  light.  She 
plunged  deeper  and  deeper  into  vice,  and  finally,  when  all  her 
money  was  exhausted  and  her  health  utterly  wasted,  she  dis- 
covered for  the  first  time  that  her  past  companions  had  all 
deserted  her.  Now,  boy^,  what  do  you  think  the  girl  thought 
the  most  of?  It  is  hard  to  tell  ;  but  this  I  do  know,  that  like 
the  Prodigal  Son,  she,  for  the  first  time  since  leaving  her 
mother,  thought  of  home.  Oh,  you  can't  realize,  boys,  how 
much  this  fiillen  creature  thought  of  home  and  her  mother.  But 
would  her  mother  receive  her  now?"  asked  Mr.  Hastings  in  a 
low  voice  there  being  remarkable  stillness  throughout  the  room. 
"The  girl  didn't  much  care  whether  her  mother  would  receive 
her  or  not ;  but  she  wanted  to  get  home.  So,  she  suddenly 
left  Glasgow,  and  when  she  had  got  quite  near  her  old  home 
she  discovered  a  little  glimmering  light  in  the  distance.  At 
first  she  didn't  know  where  it  was,  but  as  she  got  nearer  her 
home  she  was  glad  to  see  that  the  light  really  did  issue  from 
her  own  house.  She  went  up  to  the  front  door  and  saw  that 
the  latch-string  was  really  out.  This  fact  she  could  hardly  be- 
lieve ;  she  involuntarily  pulled  the  latch-string ;  the  door  was 
quickly  opened.  The  next  moment  a  pair  of  loving  arms  were 
about  her  neck,  and  a  mother's  voice  saying  tenderly,  '  Dear 
darling  child,  how  glad  I  am  that  you  have  returned.'  If  a 
mother  will  do  this,"  concluded  Mr.  Hastings,  "God  most 
certainly  will." 

We  must  now  omit  special  reference  to  the  united  phalanx 
that  surrounded  Mr.  Moody,  and  speak  more  particularly  of 
him  who  was  the  heart  and  soul  of  the  mighty  enterprise. 

When  he  came  to  Boston  Mr.  Henry  F.  Durant,  the  founder 
of  Wellesley  College,  a  converted  lawyer  of  ample  means,  invi- 
ted him  and  his  family  to  take  up  their  abode  at  his  house  dur- 
ing their  stay  in  the  city.  This  they  did  ;  while  the  proprietors 
of  the  Hotel  Brunswick  gave  Mr.  Sankey  and  family  a  home 
in  their  elegant  house  fre^of  charge.  Thus  the  expenses  of 
these  brethren  were  chiefly  provided  for  by  private  hospitality. 
And  here  may  be  inserted  the  statements  of  Mr.  Moody,  re- 
specting their  own  connection  with  money: 


yiS  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

There  have  been  some  very  exaggerated  rumors  that  we 
were  employed  to  come  for  so  many  thousand  dollars — ten,  fif- 
teen, twenty,  even  thirty.  Now  let  me  say  that  this  money  is 
to  go  to  D.  E.  Snow,  of  the  Tremont  Bank,  who  is  Treasurer  of 
the  committee  that  have  put  up  the  building  and  have  paid  all 
the  bills,  and  not  one  dollar  of  it  is  coming  to  us.  We  not  only 
raised  money  enough  to  pay  the  expenses  in  Chicago,  but  eighty 
thousand  dollars  to  pay  the  debt  on  the  Young  Men's  Ciiristian 
Association.  Then  some  one  writes  to  an  infidel  paper  that 
Moody  and  Sankey  had  put  the  money  in  their  pockets — pretty 
good  pay  for  three  months'  work.  We  find  a  good  many  people 
believe  it.  If  we  took  money  from  the  public  it  would  be  well 
to  report  what  we  did  with  it  and  how  much  we  received,  as 
there  never  has  been  any  collection  for  us,  and  we  are  not  em- 
ployed by  the  public  or  any  committee. 

I  do  not  know  that  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  say  anything  to 
justify  myself  in  the  way  I  have  been  employed  the  last  sixteen 
years,  but  when  I  gave  up  my  business  sixteen  years  ago,  after 
three  months  of  the  severest  struggle  of  my  life  whether  I  should 
go  for  dollars  and  cents  or  for  souls,  from  that  day  to  this  I  have 
no  more  lived  for  money  than  I  have  lived  for  water.  My 
friends  have  blamed  me  because  I  have  not  laid  aside  something 
for  my  family.  Some  of  them  insisted  upon  ray  wife  having 
some  money  and  they  bought  her  a  home  in  the  country,  and 
the  rumor  is  that  it  cost  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars  to  furnish  it.  The  home  cost  three  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  and  there  have  been  some  improvements,  and 
the  furniture  and  everything  cost  ten  thousand  dollars.  It  be- 
longs to  my  wife  and  children.  My  father  died  at  the  early  age 
of  forty-one,  and  if  I  die  to-morrow  there  will  be  a  roof  over 
the  heads  of  my  wife  and  children.  Some  one  said  in  the 
inquiry-room  a  certain  man  would  not  come  because  I  paid  four 
thousand  dollars  for  a  house.  Take  off"  three  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  and  you  will  find  it  right.  As  far  as 
dollars  a!id  cents  are  concerned,  i  could  make  more  in  one 
night  than  I  have  made  in  Boston.  1  have  been  offered  five 
hundred  dollars  a  night  for  a  lecture.      1  have  been  offered  two^ 


BOSTON  AT  THL:  FEET  OF  JESUS.  719 

three,  five  hundred  dollars  a  night  to  lecture,  when  I  mij^lu  talk 
an  hour  and  then  go  to  a  comfortable  hotel  ;  but  as  it  is  now,  I 
work  at  the  Taberhacle  all  day  and  talk  till  midnight  wiih 
inquirers,  and  when  I  am  done  have  hardly  strength  enough  to 
go  to  my  room.  If  you  want  to  attack  me  do  not  attack  me 
tiicre.  I  have  weaknesses,  but  they  are  not  in  that  direction. 
If  I  had  come  for  money  it  would  have  been  in  some  other  work. 
(Applause.)  I  detest  that  applause.  The  royalty  on  the  hymn 
books  amounted  last  year  to  sixty-eight  thousand  dollars,  but 
it  all  went  to  three  trustees,  and  not  one  dollar  came  into  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Sankey  or  myself.  It  belongs  to  us  as  much  as 
the  income  of  your  business  belongs  to  you,  but  we  give  it  up. 
We  do  not  want  one  dollar  of  your  money  in  Boston.  Give  it 
to  the  Lord  as  long  as  you  please.  I  would  raiher  live  on  a 
crust  of  bread  than  have  people  think  we  came  for  your  money. 
If  any  young  man  here  wants  to  go  into  the  work  of  the  Lord 
for  money,  1  advise  him  not  to  do  it.  Now  I  don't  want  any 
one  to  go  off  and  say  that  we  preach  for  nothing,  for  we  do  not. 
We  preach  for  souls,  and  the  Lord  takes  care  of  us.  I  never 
have  known  what  it  is  to  want  money  in  the  sixteen  years  I  have 
been  at  work  for  Him.  The  Lord  has  taken  good  care  of  me, 
and  I  have  not  known  what  it  is  to  want. 

Previous  to  one  of  the  hymns  Mr.  Moody  said  :  "  The  com- 
mittee is  twenty  thousand  dollars  short  on  the  expenses  of  the 
meetings  in  this  building  ;  and  a  collection  of  thank  otTerings 
will  be  taken  up  at  all  the  meetings  to-morrow.  None  of  the 
offerings  thus  raised  are  to  go  for  Mr.  Sankey  or  myself;  and 
therefore  I  have  no  hesitation  in  making  this  appeal.  I  believe 
that  giving  is  an  act  of  worship — that  is,  free-will  offerings.  If 
you  can't  give  without  grumbling,  don't  give  at  all ;  the  Lord 
can  get  on  without  your  money  or  you.  But  if  you  feel  that  the 
Lord  has  done  anything  for  you,  then  give  as  God  has  blessed 
you." 

The  collection,  said  he,  will  now  be  taken  up,  but  before  this 
is  done  1  will  read  a  statement  I  have  here,  so  that  you  may 
know  how  much  money  is  needed.     It  is  as  follows  : 


720  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

For  rent  of  land  for  the  tabernacle $2,500 

Entire  cost  of  building 32,500 

Coal  and  gas .* 1,600 

Advertising,  printing   and  postage 2,500 

Rent  of  halls 900 

Running  expenses  for  sixteen  weeks 1,200 

Incidentals 600 


Total $41,300 

Received  up  to  the  present  time 22,300 

Amount  needed  to  pay  off  the  expenses  to  the  present 

time $19,000 

There  is  a  project  on  foot  to  keep  the  land  and  building  for 
another  year.  If  this  is  done  ten  thousand  dollars  will  be 
required,  and  I  would  say  that  now  is  the  time  to  get  it,  before 
people  go  into  the  country.  I  hope  you  will  give  as -the  Lord 
has  prospered  you.  If  you  have  money  with  you,  put  it  in  the 
box  ;  if  not,  put  your  name  and  the  amount  you  are  willing  to 
give  on  a  card.     A  collection  will  now  be  taken  up. 

Speaking  the  next  day  of  the  result  of  this  effort  to  liquidate 
the  obligations  of  the  committee,  he  said  : 

I  am  glad  to  say  that  the  collections  taken  yesterday  amount 
to  enough  to  pay  all  the  indebtedness  on  this  building.  But 
more  money  is  needed  to  carry  on  the  work  and  preserve  this 
Tabernacle  ;  so  we  shall  take  another  collection  Sunday  morn- 
ing, afternoon  and  evening.  We've  undertaken  to  keep  up 
these  meetings,  and  it  must  be  done.  We  shall  keep  going  at 
you  till  the  whole  sum  is  raised.  A  good  many  Boston  people 
were  shut  out  from  the  privilege  of  giving  yesterday,  because 
they  could  not  get  into  the  meetings.  There  were  a  good  many 
country  people  there,  and  they  did  very  well  indeed  ;  and  now 
we'll  give  Boston  people  a  chance  next  Sunday.  Be  sure  and 
bring  your  pocketbooks  with  you  to  the  meetings,  and  be  sure 
that  there  is  money  in  your  pocketbooks,  too. 

Mr.  Moody  spoke  of  future  work  as  follows  :  I  have  received 
a  notification  from  several  of  the  business  men  of  this  city  for 


BOSTON    AT    THE    FKET    UF    JESUS.  721 

Mr.  Sankey  and  myself  to  remain  here  during  all  the  month  of 
May.  I  think  about  five  hundred  of  the  business  men  have 
signed  this  petition,  and  I  am  rejoiced  to  know  that  they  arc 
interested  in  the  work  ;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  this  is  the  lime 
for  them  to  take  it  up.  We  have  been  to  work  here  three 
mo^nlhs,  and  if  they  only  take  it  up  in  the  month  of  May,  and 
not  only  through  tliat  month,  not  only  continue  for  that  time, 
but  during  the  rest  of  their  lives,  it  would  be  a  glorious  thing. 
The  work  shouldn't  stop  during  the  months  of  May  and  June. 
It  will  be  just  the  time  for  the  work  in  the  churches  to  get 
rooted.  Then  a  great  many  ministers  will  be  out  of  the  city  on 
their  vacations,  and  it  will  be  just  the  time  to  get  the  young 
converts  together  and  feed  them  on  truth,  and  build  them  up  in 
the  Word  of  God.  But  I  hope  that  some  of  the  ministers  will 
stay  at  home  and  not  go  off  on  a  vacation,  and  if  the  churches 
are  kept  to  work  there  will  be  a  great  many— hundreds,  and 
perhaps  thousands — converted  this  summer.  I  tell  you  God  is 
just  as  willing  to  work  one  month  as  another.  They  haven't 
any  calendar  in  heaven.  The  condition  of  the  atmosphere 
doesn't  have  any  influence  at  the  throne  of  God.  God  is  just 
as  willing  to  take  an  interest  in  the  poor  sinner  at  one  time  as 
another.  So  let  us  stop  talking  about  May  or  June,  and  go  to 
work  in  earnest.  If  the  Lord  spares  my  health  I  shall  be  back 
again  in  two  weeks,  and  I  will  spend  a  good  deal  of  my  time 
with  the  young  converts.  We  have  received  a  great  many  let- 
ters recently,  asking  for  personal  consultation.  We  haven't 
had  time  to  read  them  all,  much  less  to  answer  them.  We 
should  like  to  spend  a  few  days  in  this  city  and  have  time  to 
talk  with  these  inquirers  ;  and  we  will  have  some  inquiry-meet- 
ings when  we  come  back.  Perhaps  there  Fnay  be  a  few  more 
meetings  here  in  the  Tabernacle.  Arrangements  have  been 
made  to  get  speakers  and  just  keep  this  building  open  for 
another  year.  We  are  gomg  to  write  to  Europe,  to  one  or  two 
prominent  preachers  there,  who,  we  think,  can  be  brought  to 
this  country.  Then  we  have  got  some  in  diflerent  parts  of  this 
country,  and  we  think  they  will  come.  We  just  want  to  make 
31 


722  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

this  a  place  where  thousands  and  thousands  sTiall  be  born  into 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

Truly  we  can  say  that  God  is  answering  prayer  here  in  Boston. 
The  last  three  months  have  been  the  greatest  of  my  life.  Peo- 
ple say,  "  Are  you  satisfied  ?  "  No  ;  I  never  will  be  satisfied  as 
long  as  there  is  an  unsaved  man  upon  this  earth.  But  I  shall 
be  satisfied  when  I  awake  in  His  likeness.  Satisfied  while  these 
men  are  fighting  against  God  and  reviling  the  Bible  ?  No  ! ! 
But  we  are  thankful  that  so  many  infidels,  so  many  atheists  and 
skeptics  and  libertines  have  been  born  unto  God  in  the  past 
three  months,  brought  in  answer  to  prayer.  We  want  to  keep 
on  praying  and  crying  to  God  to  answer  prayer.  In  the  twenty- 
fourth  verse  of  Jude  it  says,  "Now  unto  Him  that  is  able  to 
keep  you  from  falling  and  to  present  you  faultless  before  the 
presence  of  His  glory  with  exceeding  joy."  That  is  one  of  the 
sweetest  verses  in  the  whole  Word  of  God  ;  not  the  sweetest — it 
is  hard  to  tell  which  is  the  sweetest  verse  in  the  Bible.  How 
precious,  how  sweet  these  promises  ! 

In  speaking  of  the  privilege  of  having  God's  words  free  to  all, 
Mr.  Moody  said  :  "  Do  you  think  bad  men  would  write  such  a 
book  as  this  Bible,  which  declares  their  own  condemnation  ? 
Yet  some  people  say  that.  Do  you  think  good  men  could  make 
such  a  mistake  as  to  write  a  bad  book  ?  Such  an  idea  is  absurd. 
No  ;  the  Bible,  I  say  to  you  to-night,  has  done  more  to  lift  fallen 
humanity  than  all  the  other  books  that  have  ever  been  written. 
It  is  a  Divine  book,  and  only  the  man  who  is  born  of  the  spirit 
can  begin  to  understand  it."  Again,  when  referring  to  the  idea 
that  it  is  a  hard  thing  to  serve  Jesus,  Mr.  Moody  said  that  it  is 
a  hard  thing  to  try  to  serve  Jesus  with  the  unconverted  mind— to 
try  to  be  a  Christian  before  a  man  is  ''born  again."  '*  A  good 
many  have  tried  to  serve  the  Lord  and  the  world,  and  they  have 
failed,  and  then  have  begun  to  sigh,  and  say,  '  It  is  a  hard  thing 
to  serve  Christ.'  It  is  not  only  hard,  but  it  is  impossible,  for 
such  men,  or  any  one,  to  serve  God  in  the  flesh.  Let  Jesus  be 
accepted,  and  soon  the  convert  will  leap  for  joy  and  learn  that 
it  is  true  that  Christ's  yoke  is  easy  and  his  burden  is  light." 
Mr.  Moody  in  considering  the  e.xcuse  which  some  make — "  I  am 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  J2$ 

unworthy  to  be  a  Christian' — said:  "  Have  you  ever  seen  any- 
thing in  the  Bible  that  Jesus  will  reject  a  man  for  his  sins?  All 
are  invited  to  the  Saviour's  feasts.  Jesus  came  to  save  sinners  1 
Don't  lot  Satan  deceive  you.  Christ  will  never  cast  you  out. 
He  has  never  rejected  one  who  sought  Him  ;  do  you  think  He 
will -begin  now?  O  know  in  your  heart  He  will  not  reject  you 
because  your  life  has  been  bad.  O  be  willing  to  turn  from  sin 
and  accept  the  Saviour.  There  will  be  joy  over  the  wanderer 
who  returns. 

I  remember  coming  down  the  Tennessee  River  with  a  boat- 
ful of  wounded  men  during  the  war.  You  could  hear  the  dying 
groans  all  over  that  boat,  and  as  we  gave  them  a  cup  of  cold 
water  we  told  them  of  the  water  which,  if  they  drank,  they 
should  never  die.  And  as  I  went  up  and  down  that  long  state- 
room I  found  one  wounded  man  who  was  unconscious.  I  went 
to  the  doctor  and  asked  him  if  he  would  come  to,  and  he  said 
*'  No  ;  we  have  amputated  one  of  his  legs,  and  he  has  got  to  die." 
I  said,  "  Is  there  anything  you  can  do  to  bring  him  to  ?  "  "  Yes," 
he  said,  "  a  little  brandy  and  water  might  rally  him."  So  I  got 
some  brandy  and  water,  and  while  I  was  bringing  him  to  con- 
sciousness I  began  to  talk  to  the  man  next  to  him.  "  Do  you 
know  him  ?  "  I  said.  "  Yes  sir  ;  we  went  into  the  army  together.'' 
"  Has  he  any  parents?"  "He  has  a  widowed  mother  ;  he  is 
her  only  son."  "  How  old  is  he?  ""  Nineteen."  Hehadbeau- 
tiful  black  hair  and  a  fine  face,  and  I  said  to  myself,  '*  O.  how 
that  widowed  mother  would  like  to  get  a  message  from  her  boy 
before  he  died."  I  hesitated,  and  presently  I  said  :  **  Is  he  a 
Christian?"  He  said:  *'Yes,  he  was  the  best  man  in  our 
company — a  very  godly  man."  And  every  time  I  gave  him 
brandy  I  would  say  "  William,"  and  at  length  his  eyes  opened 
and  he  fi.xed  them  on  me.  I  said,  "  William,  do  you  know 
where  you  are  ?  "  and  he  said  "  O,  yes,  I'm  on  my  way  home 
to  mother !  "  *'  Yes,"  I  said,  "  But  the  doctor  says  you  will  not 
live  to  get  there.  Would  you  like  me  to  take  any  message  to 
your  mother  ? "  And  in  a  moment  he  said,  "  Yes,  tell  my 
mother  that  I  died  trusting  in  Jesus  Christ."  It  seems  to  me 
that  I  never  heard  that  word  when  it  sounded  so  sweet.     *'  Any- 


724  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

thins  else,  William  ?  "  I  said.  "  Yes,  tell  my  mother  and  sisters 
to  be  sure  and  meet  me  in  Heaven."  Oh!  how  sweet  it  is  to 
trust  in  Him.  Why  shouldn't  every  one  in  this  building  to-day, 
just  as  you  are,  commit  yourselves  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
commence  to  trust  Him. 

Says  one  of  the  reports  : — Song,  sermon  and  the  whole  service 
yesterday  morning — this  being  the  last  week  of  the  evangelists' 
stay  in  Boston — evinced  the  thorough  earnestness  of  purpose  on 
the  part  of  the  evangelists,  and  the  heartfelt  interest  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Boston  in  the  cause  of  Christ.  Old  men  bowed  down 
with  the  weight  of  years,  young  men  in  the  first  flush  of  a  glori- 
ous manhood,  women  and  children  being  interspersed  like  flow- 
ers in  a  vineyard,  all  leaned  forward  with  eager,  earnest  faces,  as 
if  to  draw  the  evangelists  and  themselves  into  closer  communion, 
and,  despite  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  the  vast  auditorium 
was  filled  to  its  fullest  capacity,  crowds  being  turned  away  from 
the  various  entrances. 

The  evangelist  read  from  the  fourth  chapter  of  Acts,  and 
commented  on  the  demand  that  the  apostles  should  speak  no 
more  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  saying:  That  took  away  their  capi- 
tal ;  it  was  all  they  had.  The  order  wouldn't  have  troubled  a 
good  many  ministers ;  they  could  have  gone  on  as  they  had  for 
years,  and  not  even  mention  the  name  of  Jesus.  But  these 
apostles  had  nothing  else  to  preach  but  Jesus.  The  Jevvs  could 
not  make  them  give  it  up,  for  they  spoke  of  things  which  they 
had  seen  and  heard. 

Many  people  are  making  the  mistake  of  looking  for  their 
reward  down  here.  Remember  our  reward  is  yonder.  No  man 
is  ready  to  work  for  God  until  he  is  willing  to  take  the  reward 
up  yonder.  What  does  Christ  say  ?  "  When  the  world  perse- 
cutes you  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad,  for  great  is  your  reward 
down  here.  Ah  !  my  friends.  I  never  read  that  life  of  St.  Paul 
but  I  am  ashamed  of  myself  and  of  the  Christianity  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  He  didn't  have  any  committee  to  build  him  a 
building  like  this.  Look  at  him  going  down  to  Corinth.  He 
had  his  bundle  under  his  arm,  his  tools,  I  suppose,  to  make  tents 
with,     He  went  down  there  and  found  cheap  lodgings  on  some 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEKT  OF  JESUS.  7«5 

side  street,  and  then  he  began  to  preach,  and  then  the  Jews 
began  to  put  him  down  ;thcy  didn't  want  him— they  cast  him 
out.  After  he  had  been  preaching  eiglit  months  they  had  a  com- 
mittee, but  it  was  more  a  vigilance  committee  than  one  of  help, 
and  they  took  him  out  of  the  city  and  gave  him  thirty-nine 
stripes.  If  a  man  got  one  stripe  nowadays  what  a  martyr  he 
would  be.  He  went  to  another  place  and  they  stoned  him  and 
left  him  for  dead,  and  I  don't  know  but  he  was,  and  God  raised 
him.  "  What  are  you  going  to  do  now,  Paul  ?  "  they  said.  ^'  I 
press  towards  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling,"  he 
said.  The  devil  got  his  match  when  he  got  Paul.  On  he  went, 
and  they  couldn't  stop  him.  "  Five  times  I  received  of  the  Jews 
forty  stripes  save  one."  Bat  he  leaped  into  the  field  again  and 
went  on  preaching  the  Gospel  as  before.  All  the  devils  in  hell 
couldn't  stop  hiin.  God  said,  **  Preach  the  Gospel,"  and  he 
went  and  preached  it.  That's  what  America  wants — men  who 
will  preach  the  Gospel  in  season  and  out  of  season.  A  great 
cry  came  to  him  to  go  over  into  Macedonia,  and  over  he  goes 
and  the  first  thing  that  happened  to  him  was  tiiirty-nine  more 
stripes.  He  and  Silas  were  cast  into  prison,  his  feet  put  in  the 
stocks,  his  hands  in  chains,  and  his  back  black  and  bleeding. 
And  he  and  Silas  began  to  sing.  If  it  had  been  you  and  I  we 
should  have  sung  "  Hark  from  the  tombs  a  doleful  sound."  And 
they  had  just  got  through  their  prayers  when  God  shouted  from 
heaven, "Amen,  and  the  prison  doors  shook  and  the  Philippian 
jailer  was  converted,  he  and  all  his  family.  Look  at  Paul  again 
at  Rome.  The  time  of  his  departure  is  at  hand.  He  took  up 
his  pen  and  wrote  to  Timothy,  "  I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I 
have  kept  the  faith.  I  have  finished  my  course."  I  don't  know 
what  Boston  would  have  done  with  him.  Tiicy  would  have  cer- 
tainly called  him  a  bigot.  But  he  held  on  to  the  faith.  Now 
the  time  had  come  for  him  to  be  executed,  and  he  passed  over 
that  highway— they  took  him  two  miles  out  of  the  city.  He  went 
with  a  firm,  proud  step.  I  see  him  at  the  guillotine.  His  head 
is  cut  off-;  the  devil  can  have  his  head,  but  God  can  have  his 
soul.  I  see  him  leap  into  a  chariot  and  they  ring  the  bells  of 
heaven  and  there  is  great  joy  there  as  he  goes  sweeping  through 


7,a6  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

the  gates  and  up  the  shining  way  and  you  hear  them  shout, 
"  Well  done  !  Well  done  !  "  And  as  it  rolls  on  to  the  throne  oi 
God  1  hear  Christ  say  to  him,  "Well  done,  Paul,  enter  thou 
into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord  !  "  See  that  no  man  takes  your  crown. 
There  will  be  a  great  many  crownless  Christians  in  heaven. 
See  to  it  that  you  do  not  lose  your  reward  and  remember  it  is 
up  there,  not  down  here. 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  of  Mr.  Moody's  intense  realiza- 
tion of  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come  :  Heaven  and  hell  are 
realities.  He  believes  what  he  preaches,  and  yearns  to  save 
souls.  In  the  minds  of  many,  evangelical  Christians  and  min- 
isters hold  indifferently  and  with  a  sort  of  half  belief  to  the 
truths  they  profess  to  set  forth.  This  accounts  for  the  little 
interest  that  is  awakened  and  the  little  influence  that  is  gained. 
He  cannot  save  a  soul  from  eternal  darkness,  and  woe  who  does 
not  make  that  soul  feel  the  faith  he  has,  not  alone  in  the  possi- 
bility, but  in  the  certainty  of  the  doom  of  the  sinner.  It  is  this 
intense  earnestness,  born  of  a  living  faith  in  God's  Word,  as 
decreeing  the  certain  weal  and  woe  of  humanity,  that  has  awa- 
kened the  strong  opposition  of  infidels  and  Unitarians  to  his 
work  which  the  evangelical  pastors  rarely  awaken. 

A  Universalist  pastor  asked  Mr,  Moody  whether  he  was  in- 
vited to  join  in  the  revival  movement.  The  answer,  though  not 
intended  for  publication,  is  so  conclusive  and  simple  that  it 
ought  to  put  an  end  to  open  letters  and  secret  complaints.  Mr. 
Moody  said  in  substance  :  "  I  invite  every  minister  in  sympathy 
with  this  movement.  I  love  every  man  on  the  face  of  this  earth. 
You  know  the  doctrines  I  preach.  If  you  can  stand  me  I  can 
stand  you.  Only  let  us  have  no  controversy.  We  have  no 
time  to  fight.  If  you  are  not  in  sympathy  with  the  movement, 
you  work  in  your  way,  and  let  us  alone  in  our  way." 

Points  from  Mr.  Moody. 

Mr.  Moody  said  that  he  studied  the  Bible  in  this  way  :  He 
spent  weeks  and  weeks  upon  some  subject.  He  studied  it  top- 
ically.    He  studied  it  book  by  book.     Genesis  was  the  key  to 


BOSTON    AT   THK    FFET    OF    JESUS.  727 

the  Bible  There  were  four  men  that  had  written  the  life  of 
Christ,  and  we  should  read  them  all  together  in  order  to  properly 
understand  Him.  He  defied  any  man  to  read  John  without 
prejudice,  and  not  have  proved  to  him  the  divinity  of  Christ. 
Johns  object  was  to  prove  this.  No  book  explained  the  Bible 
so  well  as  the  Bible  itself.  Faith  in  God  came  from  the  Word 
of  God.  The  more  you  know  of  a  man,  the  more  faith  you  will 
have  in  him.  Revelation  was  the  only  book  that  opened  with 
benediction  upon  him  that  reads  it.  This  book  the  devil  didn't 
want  us  to  read,  for  it  tells  of  the  devil's  downfall.  God  had  no 
poor  people.  Everybody  was  rich  who  was  in  God.  There 
was  no  discount  upon  God's  promises.  We  should  take  them 
all  and  mark  good  against  them.  All  God's  promises  were 
good.  The  precious  blood  of  Christ  was  the  only  thing  that  the 
devil  was  afraid  of.  We  should  take  up  an  epistle,  for  instance, 
and  study  it  in  the  light  of  one  word.  Take  Peter  and  study 
him  in  the  light  of  the  word  precious.  The  first  thing  for  a  man 
to  do  was  to  "believe  upon  Hirti  who  sent  Me."  If  we  fed  the 
people  well  they  would  come  to  the  meetings.  We  should  feed 
them  upon  the  Word  of  God.  When  a  man  had  dug  the  Bible 
out  by  himself,  he  would  not  go  off  into  the  world  of  pleasure; 
he  would  have  something  better  than  worldly  pleasure.  We 
should  be  careful  for  nothing,  prayerful  for  e\erything,  thankful 
for  anything.  Above  all,  in  reading  the  Bible,  we  should  re- 
member that  in  it  everywhere  in  Old  and  New  Testament  alike, 
it  was  full  of  Christ.  The  "  Word  "  was  a  wondrous  power, 
and  we  should  give  people  the  '*  Word  "  in  season  and  out  of 
season.     The  Word  was  enough. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  discussion  among  Bible  stu- 
dents as  to  which  comes  first,  repentance  or  faith,  and  I  hive 
not  been  able  to  find  out  what  I  believe  about  the  matter.  I 
think  sometimes  they  come  together,  but  I  don't  care  how  they 
come  if  they  both  come,  if  men  will  only  repent  and  have  faith 
in  God.  Repentance  may  come  first  or  faith,  if  they  only  have 
the  two.  But  it  is  very  important  that  we  both  repent  and  have 
faith  in  God. 

**  I  will  raise  Thee  up  from  the  dead."     Isn't  it  precious.     I 


728  MOODY    AND    SAN'KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

like  the  religion  th^t  gives  me  the  comfort  that  the  voice  of  the 
Son  of  God  will  be  heard  in  heaven  :  "  I  will  raise  Him  up."  It 
is  only  a  question  of  time.  He  will  come  back ;  the  trump  of 
God  will  be  heard,  and  the  dead  will  come  forth.  Precious 
promise !  Glorious  word  of  the  Son  of  God !  If  you  will  lay 
hold  of  it,  how  it  will  comfort  you !  It  will  be  a  resurrected 
body,  a  spiritual  body,  a  glorified  body ;  you  can  write  over 
every  cemetery,  "  They  shall  rise  again."  Death  is  a  conquered 
enemy.  We  are  to  spend  eternity  with  the  Son  of  God  Him- 
self. What  a  promise  that  is  !  These  promises  are  for  every 
one  of  us.  Shall  we  not  lay  hold  of  them  ?  Shall  we  not  con- 
fess Him  now?  I  don't  care  if  you  are  bitter;  the  bitterest 
people  are  those  who  are  wounded  the  most. 

God  invites  you  to  the  feast,  and  it  is  a  real  invitation.  If 
God  sent  His  Son  down  into  this  world  and  didn't  give  you 
power  to  believe  and  then  punished  you  eternally  for  not  believ- 
ing on  Him,  he  w^ould  be  an  unjust  God. 

But  God  doesn't  do  that.  With  the  command  to  believe  God 
gives  you  the  power.  You  can  lay  hold  of  Christ  and  believe 
to-night  if  you  will,  and  be  saved.  Now  the  question  comes  on 
the  will  again.  Some  say,  "  I  haven't  got  the  right  kind  of 
faith."  What  kind  of  faith  do  you  want?  Some  are  waiting 
for  a  kind  of  miraculous  faith.  We  want  only  the  same  kind  of 
faith  we  have  ^n  one  another.  Don't  wait  for  miraculous  faith 
but  use  the  faith  you  have  got.  Any  faith  that  brings  Christ 
is  the  right  kind  of  faith. 

I  tremble  when  an  ungodly  man  speaks  in  favor  of  these 
meetings,  as  I  fear  that  I  have  not  given  the  word  with  the  full 
spirit  that  it  ought  to  have  been  given,  because  when  the  truth 
is  spoken,  it  cuts  into  their  hearts  and  they  don't  like  it.  It 
brings  out  their  sins.  One  man  came  in  here  who  was  living 
in  sin  and  the  truth  sank  into  his  heart.  His  wife  had  been 
praying  for  him.  He  was  living,  well,  I  might  as  well  say  it — 
in  adultery.  He  went  out  of  here  swearing  and  mad  because 
the  truth  sank  into  his  heart.  He  thought  his  wife  had  been 
telling  me  something  about  him,  but  I  did  not  know  anything 
about  him.     The  spirit  of  God  had  reached  him  and  convicted 


BOSTON    AT   THK    FKET    OF    JESUS.  729 

him  of  his  sinful  life.  But  when  the  Gospel  is  preached  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  carries  it  home,  the  sinner  is  convicted.  They 
don't  like  it,  and  then  begins  the  opposition.  If  we  are  true 
Christians  let  us  work  for  God  as  one  man.  Let  us  pray  to 
God  that  He  may  fill  us  with  power  to  deliver  the  message  as 
God  gives  it,  and  not  be  afraid  of  what  men  say,  but  to  deliver 
it  f;iithfully  and  truly,  and  then  pray  God  to  carry  it  home  to 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  Now,  are  we  ready  to  do  some  little 
thing  for  the  Lord  this  week?  I  came  here  this  morning  with 
•one  thought  to  see  if  I  could  not  stir  up  men  and  women  to  do 
some  one  thing  for  Christ  this  week.  Just  some  one  thing. 
Don't  you  see  if  you  do  some  one  thing  in  the  right  spirit  Christ 
will  bless  it,  and  there  will  be  a  great  deal  cKone  in  the  city  of 
Boston  this  week  for  Christ  if  we  all  work.  There  was  a  young 
man  in  Boston  a  few  weeks  ago  who  was  so  impressed  that  he 
ought  to  do  something  for  God  that  he  went  to  work,  and  hav- 
ing one  brother  who  lived  in  his  native  town,  he  went  home 
and  wrote  this  brother  a  kind  letter,  and  just  poured  his  heart 
out  to  that  brother,  and  told  him  how  anxious  he  was  that  he 
should  be  a  Christian.  It  was  quite  a  cold  day  in  March  when 
that  brother  got  that  letter.  I  heard  him  get  up  in  a  meeting 
and  tell  the  incident  last  fall.  He  said  it  was  most  too  cold  to 
read  it,  but  he  thought  he  would  like  to  see  what  his  brother 
had  written,  and  so  he  read  it,  and  one  portion  of  it  was 
this:  "Now,  my  brother,  I  am  going  to  pray  for  you  every 
day  until  I  hear  that  you  have  accepted  Christ  for  your 
Saviour."  That  brother  could  not  keep  back  his  tears  as  he 
read  it  and  he  said  right  there,  "  I  will  believe  and  will  receive 
Christ,"  and  God  converted  him  right  there  in  his  sleigh  on  his 
way  home.  He  had  a  happy  wife  and  when  he  got  home  and 
told  her  of  it  that  wife  of  course  rejoiced.  Let  me  tell  you  the 
results  of  that  little  letter.  That  young  man  had  a  schoolmate 
who  lived  up  on  a  hill  near  by  who  had  drunk  up  his  farm.  His 
wife  had  left  him  and  he  was  in  sin.  He  was  an  only  son,  well 
educated,  and  had  been  a  promising  youth,  but  then  he  was  just 
a  wTCck  ;  then  this  young  man  who  had  got  blessed  began  to 
labor  with  that  old  friend  and  talk  with  him  and  pray  with  him 
31* 


730  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

and  his  wife  prayed  with  him  and  nearly  two  years  ago  he  led 
that  man  to  Christ.  But  there  was  another  neighbor,  just  be- 
yond, who  had  been  forty  years  a  drunkard,  and  these  two  men 
went  for  that  drunkard  and  the  Lord  God  answered  their 
prayers.  He  is  a  saved  man  now  and  they  are  having  meet- 
ings in  the  school-house,  and  the  whole  neighborhood  is  being 
blest,  all  the  result  of  one  letter.  How  God  uses  weak  things. 
You  cannot  tell,  my  friends,  how  much  you  may  accomplish  if 
you  win  one  soul  to  Christ. 

One  day  in  the  inquiry  room  a  man  about  my  age  came  to 
me  and  he  said  he  wanted  to  see  me  alone.  I  took  him  one 
side  and  he  told  me  a  story  that  would  make  almost  any  man 
weep.  He  was  in  a  good  position — a  leading  business  man  of 
the  community.  He  had  a  beautiful  wife  and  children.  He 
was  ambitious  to  get  rich  fast,  and  in  an  unguarded  moment  he 
forged  ;  and  in  order  to  cover  up  that  act  he  had  committed 
other  guilty  acts,  and  he  had  fled.  He  was  a  fugitive  from  jus- 
tice, and  he  said  :  "  I  am  now  in  the  torments  of  hell.  Here  I 
am,  away  from  my  family.  A  reward  has  been  offered  for  me 
in  my  city.  Do  you  think  I  ought  to  go  back  ?  "  I  said,  *'  I 
don't  know.  You  had  better  go  to  God  and  ask  Him  about  it. 
I  would  not  like  to  give  you  any  advice."  You  could  hear  him 
sob  all  over  that  church. 

He  said,  "  I  will  go  to  my  room  and  I  will  come  and  see  you 
next  day  at  12  o'clock."  The  next  day  he  came  to  me  and  he 
said,  ''  I  do  not  belong  to  myself,  I  belong  to  the  law.  I  have 
got  to  go  and  give  myself  up.  I  do  not  care  for  myself,  but  it 
will  disgrace  my  family,  but  if  I  don't  I  am  afraid  I  will  lose 
my  soul."  This  day  I  got  a  letter  from  him.  I  think  I  would 
like  to  read  it  to  you.  I  told  some  people  of  it  here  to-day, 
and  they  said,  "  You  ought  to  take  it  to  Charlestown  and  read 
it  to  the  convicts  in  the  State  Prison."  But  I  thought  I  had 
better  read  it  before  I  got  there.  It  may  keep  some  man  here 
from  getting  there.  Some  one  here  may  have  just  commenced. 
He  may  to-morrow  commit  a  forgery  and  bring  sorrow  and 
gloom  upon  his  loved  ones.  It  was  only  three  days  ago  that  I 
got  a  letter  from  a  wife  and  mother  asking  me  to  see  her  hus- 


BOSTON    AT   TIIF,    FFF.T   OF    JFSL'S.  73 1 

band.  He  had  committed  forgery.  The  officers  came  that 
night  and  took  him.  It  was  a  terrible  shock  to  that  wife.  He 
was  a  kind  husb.niid.  That  mother  and  children  are  praying 
every  night,  that  their  dear  father  may  get  out  of  prison.  Let 
us  lift  up  our  hearts  that  this  man  may  see  that  sin  is  a  bitter 
thing.     But  let  me  read  the  letter  : 

Jefferson  City,  Mo.,  April  8,  1877. 
Mr.  Moody: 

Dear  Brother :  When  I  bade  you  good-bye  in  the  lower 
room  in  Farwell  Hall  you  said  :  "  When  it  is  all  over  write  me." 
I  wrote  you  in  December.  I  thought  then  that  it  would  soon 
be  over.  [Let  me  say  right  here  that  that  letter  which  came  in 
December  drew  a  picture  that  has  followed  me  all  these  days. 
He  said  he  went  to  his  home.  The  trial  was  to  come  off  in  an- 
other county.  He  wanted  to  see  his  wife,  and  he  went  to  his 
home.  He  did  not  want  his  children  to  know  that  he  was  at 
home  because  it  might  get  out  among  the  neighbors,  and  he 
wanted  to  give  himself  up  and  not  be  arrested.  Then,  after  his 
wife  had  put  the  children  to  bed,  he  would  steal  into  the  room, 
but  he  could  not  speak  to  them  or  kiss  them.  Fathers,  was 
not  that  pretty  hard  ?  Would  not  that  be  pretty  hard  "i  You 
tell  me  sin  is  sweet !  There  are  men  with  their  eyes  wide 
open  ;  no,  not  with  their  eyes  wide  open  ;  they  must  be  closed 
when  men  say  that  sin  is  sweet.  There  is  that  man,  that  loved 
his  children  as  you  love  yours,  and  he  did  not  dare  to  speak 
to  them.]  "I  wrote  you  in  December,  thinking  all  would  soon 
be  over,  but  the  State  was  not  ready  to  try  me,  and  so  I  was 
let  out  upon  bail  till  April.  Yesterday  my  case  was  disposed 
of  and  I  received  sentence  for  nineteen  years."  [Oh,  how  sad  ! 
How  bitter  sin  is  !  ^Lay  God  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind  to- 
night. Christians  always  pray  that  God  may  open  the  eyes  of 
the  blind.  Christ  came  for  the  recovery  of  sight  to  the  blind. 
I  hope  every  sinner  will  get  his  eyes  o|)en  and  see  that  sin  is 
bitter,  not  sweet.  The  time  is  coming  when  you  have  got  to 
leave  this  earth.]  "  Now  I  am  in  my  prison  cell,  clothed  in  a 
convict's  garb.     It  is  all  over  with  me.     A  long  term  of  civil 


732  MOODY    AND    SAN  KEY    IN    AMERICA. 

death  and  absence."  [Then  there  is  a  long  dash.  I  suppose 
he  could  not  pen  it.  Away  from  that  wife  and  little  child.] 
"  Now  I  have  met  the  law.  Pray  for  me  that  I  may  be  sus- 
tained with  consoling  and  needed  strengfli.  Pray  for  the  loved 
ones  at  home  ;  my  dear  parents  and  brothers  and  sisters,  and 

my  dear  wife  and  children "  [another  long  dash.]     *'  And 

I  ask  that  the  attorney  that  was  very  kind  to  me  may  be  pray- 
ed for,  that  he  may  become  a  Christian.  And  if  not  asking 
too  much,  a  few  words  will  be  gratefully  received.  Address  me 
in  care  of  Penitentiary  in  Jefferson  City,  Mo.  I  pray  that  your 
labors  may  be  blessed,  and  when  you  preach,  warn  men  to  be- 
ware of  the  temptation  of  doing  evil,  that  good  may  come  of  it ; 
warn  them  to  beware  of  the  ambition  for  wealth.  Prayerfully 
and  tearfully  yours." 

Yet  we  have  men  tell  us  that  they  will  not  give  up  sin.  I 
wish  I  could  say  something  here  that  would  open  the  eyes  of 
every  man  and  woman  in  this  assembly. 

My  friends,  will  you  come  into  the  ark  to-night  ?  When  I 
was  first  converted  here  in  Boston  a  good  many  infidels  used  to 
talk  with  me  and  try  to  dissuade  me.  A  doctor  and  infidel 
that  I  knew  told  me  that  he  had  attended  a  good  many  death 
scenes,  and  that  he  was  accustomed  to  see  men  die,  and  he  told 
me  it  was  all  a  mistake  about  the  difference  between  men  who 
were  Christians  and  those  who  were  not  when  they  come  to  die. 
At  that  time  I  had  never  seen  a  man  die,  but  afterwards  when 
I  went  into  the  army  grew  accustomed  to  seeing  them  die. 
And  sometimes  I  saw  a  number  of  men  die  in  the  same  day, 
and  I  want  to  say  that  in  spite  of  what  men  say  about  it,  it 
does  make  a  great  difference  whether  he  dies  inside  or  outside 
the  ark  ;  inside  heaven  or  outside  ;  whether  he  has  the  true 
faith  or  not,  if  he  is  conscious  of  course.  I  have  seen  men  die 
when  they  were  unconscious,  and  then  there  didn't  seem  to  be 
any  difference.  But  when  a  man  has  all  his  fLiculties  there  is 
as  much  difference  between  the  end  of  that  man  and  a  skeptic 
as  there  is  between  heaven  and  hell.  If  you  want  your  end 
to  be  glorious  you  must  take  your  stand  for  God.     If  you  are  a 


BOSTON    AT   THE    KEPT   OF   JESUS.  733 

Christian  get  up  and  come  into  the  young  men's  meeting  and 
into  tiic  inquiry  meeting,  and  tell  us  about  it  and  ask  us  ques- 
tions, and  satisfy  yourself.  Don't  let  anything  keep  you  from 
pressing  into  the  ark.'  God  gave  the  greatest  gift  of  Heaven 
for  us — His  only  Son.  We  can  press  into  the  ark  and  be 
saved  to-night.     O,  may  God  bring  hundreds  in  to-night ! 

Look  again  at  that  scene  I  have  read  to  you  this  afternoon 
from  the  seventh  chapter  of  Luke.  We  are  told  that  He  came 
to  the  little  city  of  Nain,  and  while  there  a  great  multitude  of 
His  disciples  and  "much  people  followed  him."  And  we  are 
told  that  this  poor  widow  was  coming  out  of  that  city  following 
the  coffin  which  contained  her  only  son,  and  much  people  fol- 
lowed. Look  at  those  two  processions  coming  together.  If  I 
was  an  artist  I  would  like  to  draw  them  ;  I  would  like  to  have 
such  a  picture  in  my  room.  To  me  it  is  one  of  the  most  won- 
derful scenes  that  ever  occurred.  There  was  death  and  resur- 
rection face  to  face.  Here  came  death  dragging  the  poor  cap- 
tive to  the  grave  for  the  worms  to  destroy,  and  He  who  had 
said  he  was  the  resurrection  and  the  life  came  up  face  to  face 
with  death.  I  can  see  the  disciples  when  they  stopped  ;  they 
knew  that  something  was  going  to  be  done.  I  can  see  them 
gathered  on  one  side  of  the  highway  that  this  procession  might 
pass.  And  here  two  great  powers  met.  That  widow  had  a  sad 
story  to  tell.  I  suppose  there  are  some  widows  here  to-day, 
and  if  we  would  go  to  your  houses  you  could  tell  how  your 
loved  ones  had  gone  from  you,  how  he  whom  you  loved  dearer 
than  life  had  been  torn  from  you  by  death.  Some  of  you  may 
have  followed  your  son  to  the  grave,  it  might  have  been  your 
only  son  who  was  your  one  hope,  one  prop.,  [At  this  stage  a 
woman  upon  the  platform  fainted,  and  while  the  congregation 
arose  and  sung  a  hymn  she  was  taken  our,  after  which  Mr. 
Moody  continued  as  follows  :]  I  was  speaking  about  this  widow 
that  had  her  heart  crushed  and  broken,  and  how  she  looked  to 
(he  Son  of  God  just  to  heal  that  heart.  Many  in  this  assem- 
bly, probably,  have  passed  over  that  highway. 

Perhaps  many  a  mother  to-day  has  a  crushed  heart  and  is 
sad  and  desolate  on  account  of  a  loved  one  that  has  been  taken 


734  MOODY   AND   SANKEY    IN   AMERICA. 

from  her,  and  perhaps  had  rather  go  down  into  the  grave  than 
live  longer ;  the  world  has  no  charm  for  them.  But  if  you  will 
come  to  Christ  He  will  bind  up  your  aching  heart.  See  how 
He  comforted  that  widow  of  Nain.  It  says  that  as  He  stood 
there,  seeing  her  pass  along  to  the  grave,  that  His  heart  soft- 
ened and  He  had  compassion ;  that  He  heaved  a  sigh  and 
sobbed.  He  could  not  let  that  scene  pass.  His  great  heart 
went  out  to  her  in  her  sorrow,  and  He  spoke  to  that  son  and 
commanded  him  to  rise,  and  the  young  man  spoke,  arose  and 
was  led  to  his  mother.  What  joy  there  must  have  been  in  the 
nation  that  night  as  the  restored  one  went  back  to  the  city. 
Oh,  my  friends,  what  a  Saviour  we  have,  and  if  there  is  any  one 
here  to-day  stumbling  over  the  same  cross  go  to  Christ.  It  may 
be  some  mother  has  some  child  taken  away,  and  they  are  weep- 
ing and  mourning  for  the  lost.  Christ  don't  want  you  to  do 
that.  Leave  it  to  Him.  He  will  have  compassion  on  you  and 
is  able  and  willing  to  heal  you.  He  came  into  this  w^orld  for 
that  purpose.  Why,  He  said  in  that  first  sermon,  yes  at  Nain, 
"He  has  sent  Me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted;"  and,  He  will 
heal  every  broken  heart  in  this  building  here  to-day  if  you  will 
but  come  to  Him.  1  remember  that  when  I  was  in  Edinburgh 
I  read  an  account  in  the  papers  of  a  terrible  railroad  accident 
you  had  here  and  I  didn't  think  there  was  any  one  injured 
whom  I  knew,  and  some  one  wanted  to  know  if  I  knew  a  per- 
son named  SpofTord  who  was  killed,  and  upon  looking  at  the 
accounts  again  I  found  that  it  was  the  wife  of  a  friend  of  mine 
in  Chicago  whose  four  children  had  been  killed  by  that  accident. 
When  1  was  preaching  in  Chicago  she  used  to  come  two  miles 
from  her  home  and  bring  two  of  the  little  children  who  used  to 
listen  to  the  sermons  and  the  tears  would  trickle  down  their 
cheeks,  and  one  night  they  said  they  wanted  to  go  into  the  in- 
quiry room,  and  they  confessed  Christ,  and  two  of  the  eldest 
joined  the  church.  I  said  to  myself  that  their  loss  would  surely 
break  her  heart,  and  when  I  next  saw  and  hurried  to  comfort  I 
found  that  she  comforted  me  instead  ;  I  found  that  God  had 
bound  up  that  wounded  heart.  She  said  she  hadn't  thought 
with  sorrow  of  her  children  since  taken  from  her.     She  said  : 


BOSTON    AT   THE    FEET.  OF    J  KSUS.  735 

"  It  seems  as  if  God  permitted  me  to  take  them  to  the  verge  of 
eternity  and  waft  them  into  glory  and  then  call  me  back."  And 
to-day  there  is  not  a  more  reconciled  or  better  Christian  worker 
in  Chicago.  She  can  tell  you  that  God  can  heal  the  broken 
heart.  God  has  given  her  grace  to  stand  it ;  that  is  what 
Christ  does. 

No  man  ever  received  Christ  that  did  not  receive  Him  in 
hurnility,  when  pride,  self-righteousness  and  egotism  were  gone. 
As  you  receive  Him,  walk  in  Him.  If  we  walk  in  Him  as  we 
ha\'e  received  Him,  then  we  are  walking  as  God  would  have  us 
walk,  then  we  are  deep  rooted.  We  want  to  get  these  young 
converts  rooted,  not  in  themselves,  but  in  Christ.  You  find 
surface  Christians,  when  there  is  some  great  blast  of  temptation, 
go  down.  If  we  are  rooted  in  Christ  and  built  up  in  Him,  we 
have  strength  and  power.  Let  us  pray  that  we  may  have  these 
seven  things,  that  we  may  realize  that  we  have  received  Christ, 
walk  as  we  have  received  Him,  be  rooted,  built  up  and  com- 
plete in  Him,  buried  in  Him,  and  risen  in  Him. 

Now,  if  the  Bible  don't  teach  the  doctrine  of  substitution,  of 
atonement,  that  Jesus  Christ  died  in  our  place  and  suffered  for 
our  sins,  why  I  say  it  don't  teach  anything.  If  you  take  that 
out  you  have  got  to  cut  the  Bible  all  away,  from  Genesis  to 
Revelation.  Then  some  men  stand  right  up  and  say,  "  I  don't 
see  what  claim  Christ  has  got  on  me.  I  don't  see  why  I  should 
love  Him."  It  seems  to  me  we  have  no  reason  for  not  loving 
Him  if  this  Bible  is  true.  If  it  isn't,  let  us  take  and  burn  it  up. 
The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  greatest  humbug  that  has 
ever  been  brought  into  this  world,  it  has  deceived  hundreds  of 
millions  of  people,  if  it  is  not  true  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins. 
And  if  He  didn't  die  for  our  sins  how  are  we  going  to  make 
an  atonement  for  our  sins  ?  How  are  you  going  to  get  rid  of 
your  sins  if  you  make  light  of  the  atonement  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  ?  "  O,"  you  say,  "  I  am  going  to  be  belter."  But  how 
are  you  going  to  do  it  with  all  the  rest  of  your  sins  hanging 
over  you  ?  I  was  pained  the  other  night  by  a  man  coming  into 
the  inquiry  room  and  trying  to  prove  to  me  that  Christ  did  not 
suffer  much,  after  all  ;  He  didn't  do  much  for  the  world,  after 


736  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

all.  You  have  heard  the  story,  perhaps,  of  that  mother  who 
started  from  New  York  to  meet  her  husband  during  the  Cali- 
fornia gold  fever.  A  young  man,  during  the  gold  fever,  went 
out  to  the  Pacific,  and  left  his  wife  and  little  boy.  Just  as 
soon  as  he  was  successful  he  was  going  to  send  money.  A 
long  time  elapsed,  but  at  last  a  letter  came  enclosing  a  draft, 
and  telling  his  wdfe  to  come  on.  The  woman  took  a  passage 
in  one  of  the  fine  steamers  of  the  Pacific  line,  full  of  hope  and 
joy  at  the  prospect  of  soon  being  united  to  her  husband.  They 
had  not  been  out  many  days  when  a  voice  went  ringing  through 
the  ship,  "  Fire !  fire  !  "  The  pumps  were  set  to  work  and 
the  buckets  were  brought  into  operation,  but  the  fire  gained 
upon  them.  There  was  a  powder  magazine  on  board,  and  the 
captain  ordered  all  the  boats  to  be  instantly  lowered.  He 
knew  whenever  the  fire  reached  the  powder  they  would  all  be 
lost.  The  people  scrambled  into  the  boats  and  the  mother 
and  boy  were  left  on  the  deck.  As  the  last  boat  was  being 
pushed  ofi"  the  woman  begged  to  be  taken  in.  The  majority 
insisted  the  boat  was  too  full,  and  wanted  to  push  off,  but  one 
man  put  in  a  word  for  her,  and  they  said  they  could  allow  one 
more  on  board,  but  no  more.  What  did  the  rnother  do  ?  Did 
she  go  on  board  and  leave  her  son .?  No,  she  put  her  boy  into 
that  lifeboat  and  told  him  if, he  ever  lived  to  see  his  father  to 
tell  him,  "  I  died  to  save  you."  And  the  boat  pulled  away 
from  that  ship,  and  left  the  mother  standing  there.  The  ves- 
sel went  on  burning.  Presently  an  explosion  was  heard,  and 
all  was  buried  in  the  ocean.  Suppose  that  young  man  was 
here  to-night.  Suppose  you  spoke  to  him  about  the  act  of  his 
mother,  and  he  turned  around  and  scoffed  at  it.  "Why,"  you 
would  say,  "  that  ungrateful  wretch  don't  deserve  to  live," 
and  this  is  what  you  are  doing.  He  laid  down  his  life  for  you. 
Now  will  you  speak  contemptuously  about  Him  .?  Will  you 
speak  lightly  of  the  blood  laid  down  on  Calvary  for  you.?  Let 
us  rather  all  thank  God  we  have  such  a  Saviour.  Let  us  live 
for  Him  and  pray  that  He  may  give  us  strength  and  courage 
to  stand  up  for  Him  and  to  come  out  boldly  for  Him. 


BOSTON    AT    TlIK    FEF.T   OF    JESUS.  ^37 


Mr.  Moody's  Tact  and  Courage. 

Mr.  Sankcy  began  the  beautiful  hymn,  "  Waiting  and  Watch- 
ing."    Just  as  lie  was  singing  the  lines, 

"  Will  any  one  there  at  the  beautiful  gate 
He  waiting  and  watching  for  me  ?  " 

a  small  boy  fell  off  from  his  seat  on  one  of  the  heaters  at 
the  southeast  end  of  the  room.  He  wasn't  hurt,  but  the  noise 
startled  the  listening  crowd.  In  an  instant  five  hundred  peo- 
ple were  on  their  feet ;  in  another  instant  half  the  assemblage 
had  jumped  upon  the  seats,  and  a  surging  roar  of  voices  rising 
louder  and  louder,  presaged  a  coming  panic.  Several  women 
fainted  ;  the  excitement  and  noise  increased,  and  the  singing 
being  suspended,  Mr.  Moody  stepped  to  the  front  and  shouted 
to  the  throng,  "  Sit  down — there's  no  danger."  The  chief  usher 
went  to  the  scene  of  confusion  and  reported  that  it  was  onTy  a 
case  of  fainting.  In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Moody's  reassuring 
face,  and  his  repeated  declarations  that  all  was  right,  had  par- 
tially quieted  the  frightened  crowd.  The  causeless  stampede 
was  arrested  just  as  it  began.  The  ushers  kept  the  people  back  j 
and  the  roar  of  e.xcited  voices,  which  was  perfectly  deafening 
during  the  height  of  the  incipient  panic,  gradually  died  away  to 
a  subdued  buzzing.  Mr.  Moody  then  said  :  '*  I  have  just  heard 
from  the  usher  that  some  one  has  fainted.  And  those  around 
the  person  got  up,  why,  the  whole  crowd  got  up,  and  it  was  just 
hub  bub."  Here  Mr.  Moody  twirled  his  hands  in  his  expressive 
manner.  "When  some  one  faints  in  the  building,  if  the  people 
around  them  wouldn't  get  up,  there  wouldn^t  be  any  danger  of 
a  panic.  There  is  a  great  deal  more  danger  of  people  getting 
e.xcited  like  this  and  bringing  about  a  panic  than  if  we  are  not 
excited.  We  have  no  need  to  be  excited.  We  are  not  up  a 
flight  of  stairs  ;  we  are  on  the  ground  floor,  and  all  the  ushers 
have  to  do  is  to  open  these  doors  at  the  sides  and  let  the  audi- 
ence out.  Let  us  all  be  quiet.  We  have  ushers  all  through  the 
building,  and  if  a  person  faints  it  is  nothing  unusual.  The 
ushers  take  them  into  the  air  at  once ;  but  the  moment  they 


738  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

take  this  person  out,  why,  four  or  five  hundred  people  just  spring 
right  up  and  get  scared,  when  there  is  nothing  to  be  frightened 
about.  Now  let  us  just  rise  and  sing  one  verse  of  the  hymn,  '  I 
Need  Thee  Every  Hour.'  " 

One  evening,  during  services,  a  man  fainted.  The  stir  im- 
mediately around  him  spread  ;  the  more  distant  audience,  not 
knowing  what  was  the  cause  of  disturbance,  and  there  was 
danger  of  a  general  excitement,  which  Mr.  Moody  promptly 
checked  by  saying,  "  It  is  only  that  a  person  has  fainted.  What 
a  mercy  he  is  not  dead.  Carry  him  into  the  air,  and  let  us 
sing,"' — naming  a  hymn. 

Once,  in  exhorting  those  who  were  impressed  to  make  open 
confession  of  their  sins,  he  anticipated  the  objection  they  might 
raise,  that  ''it  would  damage  their  reputation,"  and  met  it  by 
saying — "  Take  care  of  your  character,  and  your  reputation  will 
take  care  of  itself." 

One  of  the  workers  was  oppressed  with  the  fear  of  not  having 
wisdom  to  adapt  instruction  to  individual  cases,  and  carried  his 
burden  to  Mr.  Moody,  remarking,  "■  It  is  a  great  responsibility." 
The  other  instantly  replied,  "  God  will  take  care  of  the  respon- 
sibility," and  the  lion  in  the  way  disappeared. 

He  shows  both  remarkable  sense  and  devout  piety  in  his  suc- 
cess in  managing  especially  his  ministerial  co-workers.  They 
are  all  human,  sometimes  remarkably  developed  in  this  direc- 
tion. They  have  the  natural  weaknesses,  and  jealousies,  and 
ambitions  of  men,  in  many  instances,  at  least,  but  partially 
sanctified.  They  represent  both  different  branches  of  the  great 
Christian  family  and  different  Church  homes  of  the  same  family. 
They  have  natural  desires  to  secure  as  much  local  benefit  for 
their  flocks,  and  as  much  public  recognition  for  themselves,  out 
of  the  great  work,  as  possible. 

These  naturally  appear  at  first  quite  conspicuous  in  his  ser- 
vices. But  his  hearty,  manly  and  Christlike  earnestness  and 
brotherly  tenderness,  when  he  meets  them  together,  melt  down 
these  growing  walls  of  selfishness,  cement  a  true  bond  of  broth- 
erly charity,  and  inspire  a  common  desire  for  the  simple  tri- 
umphs of  the  Gospel  in  the  salvation  of  souls. 


BOSTON  AT  THE  FEET  OF  JESUS.  739 

In  a  new  work  on  the  Supernatural  Factor  in  Revivals,  the 
author  thus  discourses  : 

The  Tabernacle  preacher  but  reiterates  the  faith  of  such  men 
as  Tertullian,  Cyprian,  Athanasius,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Chry- 
sostom,  and  Augustine,  among  "  the  Church  fathers  ;  '*  he  but 
repeats  the  creed  of  Anselm,  Abelard,  Lombard,  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas, Thomas  a  Kempis,  Eckart,  and  Taulcr,  of  the  scholastic 
and  mystic  periods;  he  but  adopts  and  declares  the  belief  of 
such  renowned  Germans  as  Mosheim,  Euler,  Haller,  Zollikofer, 
Bengel,  Zinzendorf,  Herder,  Schleiermacher,  Schlegcl,  Neander, 
Olshausen,  DOrner,  Rothe,  Hengstenberg,  Stahl,  Krummacher, 
Hagenbach,  Tholuck,  Lange,  Lucke,  UUmann,  Slier,  Gieseler, 
Kurtz,  Guericke,  Von  Muller,  Biinsen,  and  later  divines,  schol- 
ars, and  scientists. 

The  Tabernacle  preacher  but  proclaims  the  faith  of  such  dis- 
tinguished Frenchmen  as  Calvin,  Pascal,  Bossuet,  Bourdaloue, 
Fenclon,  La  Rue,  Massillon,  Saurin,  Vinet,  D'Aubigne,  Gaus- 
sen,  the  two  Monods,  Cuvier,  M.  Guizot,  and  of  many  others 
whose  names  are  famous  in  science  and  literature ;  he  but  re- 
peats the  views  of  such  renowned  Englishmen  as  Cromwell, 
Locke,  Milton,  Dc  Quincy,  Isaac  Newton,  Brewster,  Faraday, 
and  the  entire  list  of  English  Christian  poets  and  brilliant 
divines,  and  of  those  who  renounced  infidelity,  embracing 
Christianity — Count  Brandt,  Lord  Littleton,  Boyle,  Bateman, 
.John  Newton,  and  John  Bunyan.  The  Tabernacle  preacher 
has  for  his  allies,  among  Americans,  the  most  honored  of  her 
rulers,  her  statesmen,  judges,  divines,  reformers,  teachers,  men 
of  letters,  and  men  of  science. 

These  men,  possessed  of  clear  intelligence  and  unquestioned 
virtue,  whose  grasp  of  intellect  and  lofty  character  make  their 
biographies  the  pride  of  humanity, — these  men,  in  whose  pres- 
ence modern  scoffers  appear  to  the  most  signal  disadvantage, 
and  in  striking  insignificance, — yes,  these  men,  and  the  grand 
list  of  reformers  and  evangelists,  history  through,  present  low- 
ers of  strength  about  the  Christian  faith,  which  are  no  more 
disturbed  by  New  England  infidelity  than  if  it  existed  not.  It 
is  hard  to  scratch  granite. 


740  MOODY    AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

What  has  radicalism  accomplished  worth  recording  ?  Grand 
have  been  the  promises  and  unqualified  the  pretensions  ;  but, 
as  every  student  of  history  knows,  all  these  shining  exhalations, 
extending  through  a  period  of  eighteen  hundred  years,  one  after 
another  have  gleamed,  flickered,  vanished ;  they  have  lighted 
no  man's  footfall  on  the  journey  to  eternity,  and  have  alleviated 
no  throb  of  mortal  anguish. 

Evangelical  Christianity  has  often  been  reproachfully  com- 
pared to  the  priest  and  Levite  in  the  parable.  But  where  are 
the  missions  which  radicalism  has  established  ?  Where  are  the 
asylums  it  has  built  ?  Where  the  schools  and  colleges  it  has 
founded  ?  How  many  are  the  societies  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor  and  distressed  which  it  has  originated  ?  If  in  error,  we 
shall  be  glad  of  correction ;  but,  so  far  as  informed,  we  venture 
the  assertion  that  the  Boston  Tabernacle  has  given  more  break- 
fasts and  dinners  to  poor  people  within  eight  weeks  than  Radi- 
calism has  given  for  eighteen  hundred  years.  By  their  fruits  ye 
shall  know  them  ! 

Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  are  said  by  Boston  radicals  to  be 
''two  peripatetic  peddlers  of  piety^  rotating  over  two  conti- 
nents; "  they  are  said  to  be  '^intelligent  only  in  their  adroit  ap- 
peals to  ignorance ;"  they  have  been  called  "shallow  trick- 
sters," "  wretched  ravers,"  who  "  undertake  to  revive  the  age  of 
grovelling  grammar  and  rabid  religion ;  of  shabby  syntax  and 
heathenish  holiness,  at  one  and  the  same  time." 

It  has  been  said  that  "  New  England  recognizes  in  the  Tab- 
ernacle nothing  but  a  gigantic  and  godly  guy,"  "  a  fraudulent 
and  flatulent  bubble,"  "a  Moody  and  Sankey  carnival,"  a  ma- 
chine which  is  the  direct  provocative  of  immorality,"  '*  absorb- 
ing thousands  of  dollars  which  would  have  gone  to  relieve  the 
necessities  of  semi-starved  families  in  the  neighborhood  ; "  "  it 
is  not  even  a  decent  and  respectable  humbug,  but  a  daring  and 
disgraceful  imposture." 

But  notwithstanding  these  attacks,  and  this  uncalled  for  and 
unprovoked  abuse,  the  Tabernacle  movement  already  has  re- 
formed more  ungodly  men  and  inebriates  since  its  dedication, 
than  has  New  England  radicalism,  dating  from  the  time  when 


BOSTON    AT    THE    FtET    OK    JESUS.  74 1 

its  first  notes  were  sounded  by  Theodore  Parker ;  indeed,  more 
than  has  any  form  of  radicalism  since  the  first  scoffer  said, 
*' There  is  no  God,"  or,  ''Christianity  is  false."  "For  which  of 
these  do  ye  stone  me  ?  " 

Is  it  replied  that  the  evangelical  patient  is  constantly  taken 
sick  again  ?  True  ;  but  the  trouble  is  with  the  patient,  not 
with  the  physician  nor  with  the  remedies  employed.  A  given 
patient  sickens,  applies  to  the  doctor ;  the  prescription  is 
ordered,  and  the  patient  recovers.  But  owing  to  wilful  irregu- 
larities, he  again  sickens  ;  the  same  remedy  is  successfully 
administered,  and  he  recovers ;  again  and  again  does  it  thus 
result.  Now,  shall  the  physician  and  the  remedy  be  cast  aside, 
or  give  place  to  a  prescription  which,  whenever  employed,  has 
not  only  not  cured  sick  men,  but  has  repeatedly  made  well  men 
sick  ?.......... 

"  What  would  the  great  hives  of  our  various  industries  in 
Northumberland,  Yorkshire,  Lancashire,  Staffordshire,  and 
Cornwall  have  been,"  asks  an  English  correspondent,  "  but 
for  revivals  ?  It  is  all  very  well  to  howl  *  against  spasmodic  and 
hysterical  religion,'  but  the  fact  is  that  the  mighty  moral  reno- 
vations which  the  populations  of  those  countries  have  under- 
gone is  due  chiefly  to  the  things  to  which  such  ugly  enitluts 
are  attached." 

A  country  pastor  at  the  Tabernacle  for  the  first  time,  went 
out  from  one  of  the  minister's  meetings,  and,  in  a  private  con- 
versation, expressed  amazement  at  seeing  such  numbers  of 
highly-cultured  city  pastors  of  large  and  highly-cultured 
churches,  sitting  at  the  feet  of  a  man  like  Mr.  Moody,  with 
little  pretension  to  learning,  without  theological  training,  with 
nothing  tangible  which  should  endow  him  with  wisdom  and 
authority  to  command. 

Meanwhile,  the  closest  scrutiny  fails  to  tind  in  Mr.  Moody 
anything  cither  assuming  or  apologetic  ;  he  simply  accepts  the 
situation  and  wrestles  with  all  it  involves.  Leaving  others  to 
theorize  as  to  the  secret  of  his  power,  he  is  about  his  Father's 
business;  and  while  evidently  believing  in  his  mission,  an  in- 
dividual less  conscious,  more  absorbed,   would   with   difficulty 


742  MOODY   AND    SANKEY    IN    AMERICA. 

be  found  in  any  of  the  walks  of  life.  The  world  sees  Mr. 
Moody's  power  to  attract,  now  in  his  fearless  aggressiveness, 
and  now  in  his  command  of  the  Saxon  element  of  the  language 
— the  simple,  homespun  English  of  the  masses  of  the  people, — 
then  halts,  giving  over  the  problem,  owning  itself  as  far  from 
the  true  solution  as  ever.  Christians  regard  him  as  set  apart 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  for  his  work  of  an  evangelist,  and  these 
supposed  elements  are  mere  accessories. 

In  finishing  the  record  of  this  Boston  work  we  perceive  an 
increase  of  efficiency  in  the  laborers  whose  health  has  been  re- 
markably preserved,  and  ve  adopt  the  kindly  words  of  another, 
with  the  hope  that  their  wonderful  career  may  continue,  and 
its  results  multiply,  till  the  whole  world  is  gathered  to  Christ 
the  King. 

In  no  city  have  the  evangelistic  labors  of  Mr.  Moody  and  his 
associates  been  more  abundantly  blessed  than  in  Boston.  In 
no  city  have  these  workmen  and  their  work  been  met  with  so 
much  pride,  prejudice,  self-righteousness,  and  supercilious  self- 
conceit.  If  ever  the  good  seed  fell  among  thorns,  it  was  when 
the  sowers  went  forth  to  sow  in  Boston.  But  there  was  an 
abundance  of  good  ground  also,  and  in  this  the  thorns  could 
not  choke  the  word.  Some  items  were  industriously  scattered 
through  the  journals,  intimating  the  speedy  failure  of  the  move- 
ment. It  was  stated  that  the  Tabernacle  was  full  only  when 
the  word  was  preached  by  a  Boston  prophet.  It  was  said  very 
plainly  that  means  of  grace,  which  might  be  acceptable  in  such 
benighted  capitals  as  Edinburgh  and  London,  were  much  too 
rude  and  childish  for  the  cultured  maturity  of  the  capital  of  New 
England.  Scarcely  were  the  words  uttered,  and  the  evidence 
of  their  absurdity  was  before  the  world.  Boston  feels  the  power 
of  an  evangelical  movement  which  involves  the  quickening  of 
every  heart  and  family,  and  church  and  neighborhood,  that  wel- 
comes the  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Such  a  quickening  in- 
volves the  awakening  and  the  confirming  of  great  numbers. 
But  there  are  no  numbers  that  can  indicate  the  true  results  of 
such  a  movement.  It  is  a  mercy  unto  thousands  of  generations 
of  those  that  love  Him  and  keep  his  commandments. 


BOSTON    Ar    THE    FEET    OF    JESUS.  743 

A  Story  concerning  the  opinion  of  liini  licld  by  Prof.  Park  of 
Andover,  runs  as  follows:  *'  A  clerical  'simpleton,  referring  to 
Mr.  Moody,  asked  Prof.  Park  if  it  was  not  strange  that  God 
effected  so  much  through  inferior  and  weak  instruments."  The 
Professor  replied :  "  I  wish  to  be  reverent  in  speaking  of  the 
Lord,  but  Mr.  Moody  is  a  great  man." 

The  value  of  the  great  evangelist's  labor  to  the  church  and 
the  world  even  cavillers  are  growing  tired  of  questioning.  What 
he  has  done  and  what  he  is  doing  are  a  noble  record  of  Gospel 
achievement.  The  common  people  hear  him  gladly,  and  never 
mistake  his  meaning  when  he  speaks.  His  sound  sense,  unpre- 
tentious manners,  and  earnest  devotion,  win  to  him  the  confi- 
dence and  cooperation  alike  of  plain  men  and  of  the  best 
Christian  minds.  His  practical  wisdom  has  called  around  him 
fellow-laborers  whom  God  delights  to  honor.  The  work  he 
has  organized  and  leads,  reclaims  lost  men  and  women,  quick- 
ens the  consciences  of  the  good  as  well  as  the  evil,  testifies 
against  iniquity  in  places  high  and  low,  saves  souls,  builds  up 
Zion's  wastes,  and  strengthens  the  hands  of  the  ministers  of 
Christ.  With  its  increase  will  come  increased  obligation  ;  but 
the  strength  of  the  God  of  Israel  is  his  right  arm,  and  the 
weight  of  care  will  have  a  heavenly  sustainer.  To  Mr.  Sankey, 
the  singing  Silas  and  companion  of  our  apostle,  much  of  what 
we  have  said  of  Mr.  Moody  equally  applies.  We  believe  his 
well-known  lines  breathe  the  real  spirit  of  both  himself  and  the 
preacher, — 

"O  to  be  nothing,  nothing — 

Only  to  lie  at  His* feet  ; 
•  A  broken  and  empty  vessel 

For  the  Master's  use  made  meet !  " 

This  was  the  spirit  of  the  consecrated  Phineas  Stowe,  whose 
sense  of  responsibility  used  to  roll  in  upon  him  (as  he  phrased 
it)  "  like  a  continent  of  thought,"  and  who  died  exclaiming  that 
he  had  *' a  mighty  work  to  do."  May  the  Master  spare  long 
ere  the  final  breaking,  His  chosen  vessels  Moody  and  Sankey, 
and  still  as  richly  as  hitherto  furnish  them  to  serve  and  endure. 


Date  Due 


BV3785.M7G65 

A  full  history  of  the  wonderful  career 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00034  1570 


